The Galactic Exodus Chronicles Part 2 :The Galactic Civil War
by Lord Exar Kun
Summary: Now with the rebels dealt a mighty blow, and the renegade Moffs about to strike, the galaxy finds itself moving closer and closer to full blown war! The Galactic Civil War is about to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting galaxy, and this is not the war you remember in the least. Follow Exar Kun, Darth Vader, Leia, the Emperor, and everyone else through this next chapter of the GEC.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Prologue

The galaxy darkened. War was looming on the horizon, and death was about to ravish every corner of the Galactic Empire. For years now the Emperor has commanded unquestionable authority. Authority he had gained after destroying the Jedi order, eliminating the Separatists and ending the Clone Wars. It was a strange thing that his rule would be so utterly shaken. His power so easily undermined by a war that was not so different than the one he came to power upon.

There were forces at play here that trillions didn't have even an inkling of. The most important of these unknowing peoples was the Emperor himself. He did not know that his "broken," apprentice was working in collusion with Exar Kun to utterly destroy him and his power-base. He had not a clue that a child he ordered into creation was now the loyal apprentice of Kun and doing all he could to propel his master towards glory and ultimate power. He didn't know Vaders' apprentice was waiting for the same chance to move his own master to unstoppable power. Had not a clue that the very people he stripped of power were waiting for the moment to strike and unleash upon his empire a great tragedy. Or that a woman he wanted dead was about to accumulate power enough to rise up and threaten his dominance.

The hour of awakening and reckoning was upon the whole of the galaxy.

However.

That was yet to come. As Exar Kun found himself surrounded by dozens of senators in the meeting halls of the Imperial Senate building.

(Coruscant, Imperial Senate Building, Five Minutes after session of Congress)

Exar stood smiling and shaking the hand of the relatively new senator of Kuat. He hadn't actually caught the mans name but felt he didn't need it. After all he knew the man was practically bowing at his feet with praises, and even a small hint of gratitude. Exar gave the man his gratitude in return and waved him off as he continued to meander about the room that reeked of aristocratic pompousness, and self assured arrogance. The force felt like leaking oil in the room, but Kun knew that it wasn't the Emperors presence that brought the stench into the building.

'_These "people" are quite the bootlickers aren't they?' _The dark lord thought as he passed several men who bowed to him in further respect. He gave a quick nod and smile in return and moved onwards. _'Haha, the praise must be quite annoying to his majesty! Sadly for him I quite like it!' _He thought chuckling himself.

However Exar had someone more important he just had to speak to! Ah yes, the senator of Alderaan had been on his mind since he acknowledged the man in the senate not too long ago. He so wanted to see the mans face, and his reaction in person, and he needed to insure the little senator continued to play the wonderful game they had begun back on Alderaan!

'_After all my dear friend, how can you not just love this game! The stakes have been raised, the value tripled, and the cost immeasurable! What's not to love about politics really?' _Again he chuckled to himself as he squeezed through two senators talking amongst themselves. He was fast approaching the entryway of the Alderaanian delegation pod, and he was bristling with anticipation!

He approached and noticed that many senators were standing about, talking and discussing; the usual. However Kun sensed through the force that many seemed perplexed and even annoyed to some degree. _'Whatever is their problem?' _He asked himself, but soon grinned when he reached the Alderaanian repulsorpod entrance. _'Ah yes. I had forgot he wasn't allowed to leave!' _He really couldn't help himself today as he chuckled again and closed the distance between himself and his two Massassi guards posted in front of the door. They saw their lord approach and immediately fell to the floor in obedience and gave their praises in their ancient dialect. Kun waved his hands in a "rise" motion and turned towards the gathered senators who all smiled their fake smiles and bowed their heads towards the man who had orchestrated a slaughter that the whole galaxy got to watch.

"Forgive me senators, but Senator Organa was not permitted to leave his repulsorpod for security reasons." The dark lord explained and saw many senators begin to nod in understanding and acknowledgment. "I will go talk to him and make sure our loyal son of the Empire is safe and willing to meet with you all." Kun informed the crowd and ordered his Massassi to let no one enter the room after him; in the Massassi language of course.

He entered the door as it slid open and revealed Bail sitting down in his repulsorpod. To Kun he seemed to not have moved at all, and he was surrounded by the other Alderaanian delegates; who were trying desperately to get him to talk. "Forgive me congressmen, but I must speak with your senator….in private." Exar addressed them and they all looked to him in mixed reactions of shock, anger, and; well disgust. He smirked at them in return.

"It's okay….please leave us to talk." Came a feeble sounding voice. Much to even Kuns surprise it belonged to Bail Organa himself. His voice sounded dry with disuse and obviously sad. His men now thoroughly shocked that he had even talked; all bowed their respect and quickly left the room. Doing all they could to avoid rubbing shoulders with Kun as they passed him. He waited for them to leave and listened for when the door slid closed again, and then closed in on Bail.

The man sat with a balled fist up to his mouth that was placed supportively on his chairs armrest. His brown eyes seemed to be staring off into the empty distance, and looked horrified. Exar shook his head with a smirk on his face. _'Oh how the mighty have fallen. Well the not so mighty, but still.' _Kun thought with almost a snicker escaping him.

"Did you plan on being here? Or did you merely come as a means to utterly destroying me? Or perhaps, did the Emperor plan this whole thing himself?" Bail asked in a slightly muffled voice as his hand blocked his mouth.

Kun leaned against the wall and crossed hi9s arms in what he hoped displayed his utter delight in the scene before him. "Well it was in all honesty a mix of all three ideas really." Kun said with a shrug. "I had seen a chance to reveal myself and destroy any hope, any dreams that you had of beginning any ideological crusade against the Empire." The dark lord gleefully explained.

"You see Organa, this isn't about you; not entirely at least. You are indeed a piece of the puzzle, and an important piece on the board." Kun pushed himself off the wall and began pacing in front of the senator. He leaned down closer to Bail, "Did you honestly think that you could get away with alerting your pathetic rebel friends once off Alderaan?" The dark lord asked in a whisper that suddenly seemed more threatening then Bail expected.

"No Kun. I could not contact those poor souls that YOU condemned to death!" The senator retorted icily.

Kun stood to his full height again and chuckled. "Ah, Organa, Organa. Let's not play any games here. Whether or not you want to admit it you are just as responsible for the deaths of those men and woman on Dubrava as I and Lord Vader are." He informed as he continued pacing. "Let us; for a moment, say that you went to some rebel group after this whole thing." Kun said in a hypothetical manner that made Bail glare at him in confusion. "Let us say that you went before their now chaotic leadership and told them the exact reasons why you aided in the Dubrava attack. What would you go tell them Organa? 'Oh well it was to save my daughter I tell you!'" Kun mocked him in a almost whiny voice.

"Do you honestly believe that they would forgive you for sacrificing thousands of men and women for your single daughter? Or hell even your one planet?" He asked with a renewed grin on his face. "You are on no moral high ground today senator. You sacrificed thousand to save but one! One person that you alone are biased towards. Face it, you've burned all your bridges this day with a little help from me of course."

Exar uncaringly sat down besides Bail. The once proud and moral Organa now staring blankly at the floor at Kuns words. "Ah well. You know you're actually better off now right?" Exar asked with mirth.

Bail rolled his eyes like an annoyed teenager. "Really, and how do you think so?" He asked in a very much annoyed voice.

"Easy! Where once you were but a senator of Alderaan suspected of treason and a target of public attack from loyalists. Now you are a son of the Empire! A man that sacrificed years of his life to root out and aid in the destruction of dissenters from across the galaxy!" The dark lord explained in glee, and a smile planted on his face. Bail rubbed both his eyes in an obvious sign of agitation and weariness. "Yes I suppose I should thank you for making me but a poster boy for an Empire I've hated since day one of its inception!" He responded with tired venom.

The dark lord nodded. "Precisely!" he said with a laugh. "Now senator we are not done playing the game!" The senator looked at him in disgust. "You see I still have some use of you, and I need a poster boy for the moment." Bail shook his head once again in disgust.

"What makes you think I'll play your damnable game anymore you sick monster?" Bail asked in a scathing and venomous tone.

The dark lord placed an inquisitive finger to his mouth and made a "hmm," noise.

"Ah yes! Because I still have your daughter in the sights of my apprentice and now because of that little stunt on Alderaan, I have imperials practically dancing all over your homeworld!" He again stood up and leaned in towards the senator. "You see bail you love this girl so much that you are willing to do whatever you can to keep her safe. It is the inherent weakness of 'loving' someone such as a child. I however, can do things, and have things done to her that would make your skin crawl with sickness." His grey eyes grew more menacing. "I can tell her that her real daddy is responsible for killing millions, and that you lied to her all her life! That you aided me in killing thousands of people she obviously thinks are the good guys like you. I will break her in every and all ways possible Organa, and I will make you stand helplessly by and watch for the rest of your days!" He growled out through almost gritted teeth. Causing Bail to lean back into his chair with a horror stricken look more in his eyes than upon his face.

"Now senator," the dark lord began again with a nod of his head while saying 'senator.'

"You WILL, play the part of imperial loyalist, of lackey, of poster boy, and whatever else I command of you. You will meet with your allies in the senate and they will ask you why you did it and you will tell them that you spared them for their petty friendships, and that you were never who you said you were! You will smile and wave at the crowds and the throngs of imperial citizens who now love and adore you! You will even lie to 'your,' own daughter and you will make her believe it, or I will break you, and her. I do not suggest you test my resolve, senator. I will not be played for a fool!" He was now almost nose to nose with the Alderaanian senator. "Are we clear…..senator?" He darkly asked in almost a whisper.

Bail closed his eyes and ever so slightly shook his head. _"How did this come to happen?' _He of course knew how, but couldn't believe where he was right now. A mere pawn of a madman, an imperial, Sith madman to be exact.

"Yes, lord Kun. I understand you crystal clear." He meekly responded and watched as Kuns smile came back.

"Good, excellent! Now let us go entertain your new admirers within the senate!" The dark lord ordered, not asked, and Bail obediently rose form his seat and passed Kun quickly making for the door.

When it slid open the Massassi gave him another glare but stepped aside at the sight of their master. He looked at the gathered senators who all grew quiet at his entrance, and showed them all his best political smiles which reeked of falseness.

"_All I have left is Leia…I mustn't lose her too.' _With that thought in mind he began shaking hands with some of the worst imperial cronies of the senate showing them his own talents at political falseness and civility, and knew that tonight was going to be a long one indeed.

(Alderaan, Aldera Palace)

The shuttle had come and gone for some time now, and Viathan now had to admit that he felt utterly exhausted from earlier in the day. His wounds sustained during the Aldera skirmish had begun to burn and ache at a constant now from all the incurred stress of the day, and Viathan had given up on counting the scratches and bruises that now littered his torso, upper arms, legs, and especially his bruised, and thoroughly raw back.

'_Okay I am most definitely never doing that again!' _Viathan thought as he scrutinized his completely red back from his fresher's mirror. He knew he had brought this about himself; what with his little leap stunt that well enough could have killed him.

He shook his head in complete annoyance with himself and began re-wrapping his wounds, and dressing in a new pair of dark robes; his last being too ripped, and withered to be "saved." He had just finished with a much needed shower and now focused on the tasks that lay before him. He knew that he had to contact his master personally, and insure that the rebel prisoners had reached Alderaanian authorities without issue. On top of that Viathan had his first Imperial reports to file. Not only that but he had "paperwork," that needed tending to from the Alderaanians. Seeing as he was now officially in total command of Alderaan. At least only for the time being.

Sighing in frustration, and tiredness Viathan finished clasping his belt around his robed waist and exited his fresher. His quarters were rather large and unnecessarily ornate with the crisp and proper style of the Alderaanian royalty. It reminded him ever so slightly of the Imperial palace of Coruscant, but less…drenched in darkness.

He closed the distance between himself and his rooms entrance door which slid open and led him into one of the many corridors of the Aldera palace. He had to pass to silent but respectful Massassi of his masters who guarded his room, and he made an effort to nod towards them; to which they bowed deeply.

The hall was deathly quiet and even the Massassi made not a peep. Every step from his dark boots made a thundering echo through the entire halls length. The windows of the palace greeted Viathan with a pleasant darkness falling upon Aldera as its single satellite dimly lit upon the palace and Aldera City as well. Stars shown bright and stardestroyers flirted with the world as they danced across the atmosphere and let all Alderaanians know that the Empire had won this day, and were not leaving any time soon.

Viathan let but the slightest smirk reveal itself and quickly continued on with the tasks before him. Along his way Viathan encountered palace guardsmen that stood at specified positions and gave him looks that Viathan believed to either be fear or slight respect laced with the anger of a man who realized you had done terrible things, and could not even hope to stop you. Towards them Viathan would bow his now cloaked head, and felt their reactions through the force. It was all the same; it was fear.

Despite those palace guards Viathan also passed several Stormtroopers lined along the same corridors, and they all tensed when in his presence. The several Massassi he passed bowed deeply in respect towards their lords apprentice, and would stiffen even more than the troopers had afterwards.

'_It would seem I made an impression somehow.' _Viathan hadn't thought information had really gotten to the level in which everyone would know it was he in Crevasse; leading the push forward. Then again he knew that many imperial officers gossiped even though it was deemed unacceptable by Imperial protocol. That, and Viathan wasn't fully confident that all the Imperial com chatter was encrypted thoroughly, and the rebels may have very well leaked imperial chatter to the wider population in order to desperately garner support, and obviously it hadn't worked in the slightest.

He soon reached his masters quarters in the palace and quickly keyed in his masters personal com frequency and allowed the transmission to be accepted. Which took a moment before the holoimage of his master appeared. Viathan noticed a rather cockier than usual smirk upon his masters face, and thought he heard chatter in the distance; he thought for a moment of asking his master what the noise was, but saw better to drop to one knee and robotically recite, "Greetings, my master." Viathan bowed his head deeply and didn't look up to see his masters reaction to his respectful motion, and did not see his masters smirk broaden to a grin.

"Ah yes the great 'pacifier' of Alderaan honors me with his call!" His master said with mirth, but Viathan scowled; still looking to the floor. _'The pacifier?' _

"Forgive me master, but I do not know what you mean. I did not wish to anger you with my call, my lord." Viathan responded and bowed his head even lower almost as if he were about to receive a barrage of anger, and verbal beatings.

Exar chuckled deeply. "I did not mean to infer anger my apprentice. It was indeed a praise my boy! Word has reached here to Coruscant and even to the Outer Rim that an uprising on Alderaan has been crushed by a new Imperial player on the scene." The dark lord said with what Viathan believed to be…'_pride_?'

"The imperial networks are calling you the 'pacifier,' and the whole of the Empire is eating this up!" The Sith lord informed the teen boy with another chuckle.

"After all Viathan, the galaxy has been dealt with several awe inspiring blows today. The Moffs being nullified of their offices and powers. The annihilation of thousands of rebels and their leaders from across the galaxy! And now the galaxy hears of an upstart on Alderaan of all places; crushing a general uprising that many believed to be the heralding of a 'true,' rebellion against the Empire!" The dark lord devolved into all out laughter and took a moment to calm himself from his dark indulgence.

Viathan now relaxed and let a small smile cross his face. _'All in your name….my master.' _He thought as he finally felt needed, and useful to his lord. He could not even bear the thought of failing him.

"I seek only to serve you my master. The rebels of this world surrendered after they realized that senator Organa was in fact an…Imperial loyalist." Viathan said with a pause allowing his master to understand that he knew Bail was not what Kun made him out to be.

The dark lord grinned again with a snicker. "Oh indeed! It was quite the exposure to the galaxy abroad, I'm sure." The dark lord said again filled with mirth and dark joy.

"Nonetheless Viathan," Kun interrupted himself. "I do congratulate your efforts in 'pacifying,' those rebel scum. Know that I will insure you are greatly rewarded for your efforts, my apprentice." Now with a smile the dark lord informed his budding apprentice.

Viathan looked upon his master finally, and let his prideful smile be seen and he bowed his head again in gratitude.

"Thank you, my master." Kun nodded to him in turn, and then seemingly noticed something off to the distance on his end of the transmission.

"Ah, apprentice I must go. The Emperor is throwing together an Imperial gala or sorts in the Palace, and I am a VIP." He informed Viathan. "I will require a full report of your Alderaanian exploits be sent to me as soon as possible, and I will contact you tomorrow; standard time, and inform you of the next steps that need be taken." The dark lord ordered and Viathan quickly rose to a stand to follow with another deep standing-bow. "Of course my master. I anxiously await further orders." To that Kun nodded with a smirk, and without another word ended the communication.

Viathan stood alone for a moment as he basked in his masters praises. His previous master knew only anger, hatred, and retribution. Rarely did he ever praise Viathan, or "Valek" as he once called himself. His master once praised him when he suffered….an indignity at the hands of one of his masters trainers who had an unorthodox liking with the boy at no more than seven years of age. The Emperor had said, "You have suffered something that none walk away from unscarred. Today you have learned that suffering, pain, and humiliation are but weakness that we alone are responsible for. It is your, and my duty to eradicate weakness at all levels of the mind and body, and even of society. Know that in time you will look back on this hour and know that you are the better for what has been done, and you will know I let it happen to empower you, my young charge."

Viathan grimaced at the memory. He had no wish to ever remember what he saw, felt, even smelt that afternoon. It crawled up his spine and made him feel an anger, and a hate he did not wish to ever release.

He had to say though, Palpatine had been right about one thing. _'I am indeed the stronger for it. Now I know that you are, and always have been a nothing! I will see you dead and broken old man, and I will praise the force, and any gods I can for your destruction! I will dance upon your corpse and very grave! For it is as you said master. Weakness must be eradicated at all levels. And you are my weakness.'_

He stood looking at nothing as his mind was elsewhere, and he did not move for a time. His rage passed, and his emptiness receded into the darkness of his heart. Without even a thought he sat at his masters desk and began the task of filing reports, and signing documents for protocols sake. Viathan felt in this moment a great hunger. A hunger for happiness; though he would never speak of it to anyone; not even his master. For he knew that his life, his happiness did not matter in the least.

'_All in your name my master. All for your reign.' _

Was all he could think of, and without so much as another thought went about his desk work.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(Imperial Stardestroyer, Exactor, stationary above 'Daluuj')

It had been several hours now and Vader had retreated to his personal quarters aboard the Exactor. The execution of the Dubrava attack had been flawless! Everything Vader could have hoped to happen, happened. It was a glorious day, but not just for the Empire, but for himself as well! After the attack and the mop up, Vader had ordered the fleet of over five-hundred vessels relocate to the Imperial outpost world of Daluuj for a moments reprieve before setting course for Coruscant. Vader was all around pleased with the events of the day to say the least.

Vader had to also admit that Kun did well in pandering to the senate and the Emperor while he pandered to the fear mongering fools that were spread across the galaxy insuring everyone was always fearful of him. They would play their part in telling all just how brutal Vader had been in eradicating the rebels that numbered approximately four-thousand-five-hundred, forces in all on the planet, and in space their was a pathetic number of skeleton forces manning the rebel fleet.

'_Had these rebels even thought of attacking the Empire, and managed to actually unite it wouldn't have mattered in the least. Poor numbers, poor skill, poor fleets! What a waste of time and resources!' _

The dark lord seethed as he again allowed the darkness to overtake him.

However he let it calm as he now stood before a holoprojector and awaited his coconspirator to answer his transmission. Vader had taken extra special precautions to assure his channels were secure, but really; who would be foolish enough to tempt fate and listen in on the Supreme Commander of all the Empire?

Vader did not waste anymore time contemplating as Exar Kuns holoimage materialized and the fellow dark lord sure seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Lord Kun. I do hope that you're enjoying yourself." Vader intoned, hoping it conveyed to the Sith lord that Vader was not in a "good mood" at the moment.

Kun however just laughed it off. "Indeed I am lord Vader. I'm afraid that your transmission has torn me away from a most interesting conversation with a man named Armand Isard. I do believe he was trying to decipher my intentions though." The dark lord retorted in what Vader thought was sarcastic mirth, but he did not like these games. Though Vader did find it interesting that Kun spoke with the Imperial director at a level.

"Let's not play anymore games today Kun. I am growing more and more impatient as we advance on with our plan." Vader declared in his normal deep monotone. "Despite the obvious successes we have achieved in a relatively short amount of time I want the Emperor gone, and now! For far too long has he plagued me and this galaxy with his megalomania and power crazed 'antics;' it is only right that we seize power as soon as possible!" Vader declared and Kun quickly grew serious and his smile and mirth suddenly faded.

"Vader you know as well as I that we cannot under any circumstance deviate from the planned course. To do so would be suicide for the both of us!" Exar reminded him in a lower tone.

Vader assumed it was because Kun had torn himself away from the Imperial gathering to an empty room, or perhaps even a balcony.

"Now listen to me lord Vader. I understand your anger, and I can relate to your frustrations, but the deal is as it stands on my end or you can make your move now and I can seize all the power for myself when the Emperor is rid of you!" Kun said with all mirth wiped from his expression and tone. It was now laced with unbridled seriousness.

"Now the deal is that we work together for as long as it takes to destroy his reputation, his powerbase, his loyalists, and his very state of mind, and then ultimately him. After that we can settle all matters concerning each other, and the Empire, but until then we have much work still needing done, and if you cant control yourself all of this has been for absolutely nothing!" Exar declared as he boldly talked down to the menacing Darth Vader.

Vader stood with crossed arms and made no visible sign of relenting, but then again, Kun was hard pressed to notice any physical alterations from a man like Vader.

"Keep your belittling tones to a minimum Kun. I will not be used as a puppet in this affair and remember we are 'partners,' I am not the lesser of two equals. For too long have I been tossed between masters, and I will not be made a slave by you as well Kun. Remember that before you factor in your little games and schemes." Vader reminded without a raised voice, but Kun felt the subtle threat loud and clear, and just had to smirk.

"Of course lord Vader. No insult was intended I assure you." Exar replied as he allowed his seriousness to wind down some.

"You know they say patience is a virtue my lord Vader. We will soon be in a state of war and I do hope you will be aiding me in our push to eradicate all enemies of the state during these troubled times."

Vader relaxed himself as well, and allowed his hands to clasp his belt in a stationary stance that was common of the dark lord.

"Patience is a virtue," the dark lord repeated. "Indeed I suppose it is when you have to wait four-thousand year to even breath air again." Vader verbally jabbed his ally; who in return nodded with a smirk.

"Yes that's true lord Vader, but in the context that we're speaking in we have so much more to lose. Yet so much more to gain so long as we just stay the course." Exar insisted.

"Once we establish to the military command that the Emperor is nothing but a withered old fool lost in the old days; once we wither his command of Imperial loyalist subjects and WE become the faces of the Empire. Then we gain public acknowledgment for our actions against all threats at all levels then and only then my dear lord Vader; will we be the true victors, and the Emperor will be made irrelevant."

Kun finally rested his case to an ever silent, and watchful Vader.

"Indeed." Was all Vader said at first. "This plan can; and on my side at least, will come to fruition Kun. It would however be more than an assured thing if I were to be healed!" Vader finally allowed a burst of anger to shine through as he grew ever more impatient with Kun and his promises of healing his broken body.

Kun through up a hand in a sign of mock defeat. "Of course lord Vader, of course. I will attend to your 'broken,' body in due time, and I assure you I have found that easiest way in doing so." The other dark lord informed Vader in a evasive manner. To that Vader cocked a brow under his helmet.

"What do you mean by that Kun?" Exar merely grinned.

"Ah, my lord Vader I so wish I could tell you what I meant but alas, I cannot." Exar said with a chuckle to which Vader sneered; of course Kun didn't see it.

"Care to explain why?" Vader asked as his distorted voice grew louder with annoyance.

Kun on the other hand shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry Vader I can't. let's just say that I will one day tell you, and on that day you will realize the depths of your masters ignorance, and the extent of your betrayal by the Jedi Order." Again Kun evasively spoke, but this time Vader scowled to himself. _'My betrayal?'_

"I told you hardly anything about my past Kun, and I did not mention any betrayal." Vader with rising anger retorted.

"Indeed lord Vader? Oh yes that's right you weren't really up for talking when our partnership first began." Kun said sarcastically. "Yes lord Vader I have hear of your past, your crimes, and all that you once were. I do not care for this trivial information nor do I intend to ever speak of your matters with or without you around. Just know that I now have the ability to heal you without question, and once we are together again, and I obtain a certain piece to your genetic puzzle. I will heal you lord Vader, and then you will have your pride, and power returned." Kun promised with a smirk. "Then we will put the Emperor under out heels….together yes?" To that Vader calmed himself with an unheard sigh; knowing that Kun wasn't going to say anymore on his secrets annoyed the dark lord, but he had learned to let Kun play his little games of intrigue.

"Very well Kun. I will follow your lead, for now…" Vader trailed off and Kun laughed.

"Excellent!" Was all Kun could say in reply, but sadly for him Vader had more important things to say.

"We are not done yet Kun. I did not call simply to protest our course of action and speed of said course." Kun nodded after he had stopped laughing like an idiot, and signaled for Vader to go on.

"Vellam has sent a secured communication, and has reported that his first assembled fleet is awaiting the 'go ahead' outside of the Bestine system. The attack will commence in several hours time, and by then I will be making my way back to Imperial Center." Vader informed as he began to pace in a small circle in front of the holoprojector.

"In the course of several hours; out of the over one-hundred sectors within the Outer Rim only the Braxant, Mandalore, Nuiri, Seswenna, and Moddell sectors will remain in Imperial hands." Vader informed as Kun raised both brows in astonishment, but Vader gave him no time to retort.

"In a matter of days out of at least one-hundred-fifty-two Mid Rim sectors we will maintain control of maybe twenty to twenty-five." Again Kun raised both his brows. _'Apparently you didn't look to see how many sectors were in the galaxy Kun.' _Vader thought in exasperation.

"Of the approximate one-hundred-fourteen sectors of the Expansion region we will maintain command of over sixty, and the Inner Rim will be nearly all ours save for five sectors on the cusp of the Expansion Region." Vader concluded. To which Kun stood for a moment in stunned silence.

"Well, that is indeed quite allot of territory we are entrusting to this Nox Vellam of yours." Exar said putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Are you sure we can trust this man?" he asked to which Vader stopped his pacing and looked at Kun through his visor.

"I believe we can. He has no ambitions of his own, an were it not for me I do believe he could have lived and died a simple Moff with no desire of a higher office. Which of course makes him an excellent choice to throw the Emperor off his scent." The dark lord concluded.

"I will not be able to arrive to Bestine in good time due to my fleet being en-route to Coruscant, and therefore it is up to you to set the Emperors commands on our required course. Vellam will not simply start attacking system after system. Instead I have ordered him to make demands of the Emperor after he seizes control of Bestine. That will give me time to reenter normal space and receive the command to attack. It will also give you and my master time to plan the next course of action."

Vader finally ended his long well thought over course of action. To which Exar nodded along and looked as if he was thinking to himself.

"Good, very good indeed." Kun said after a moment longer of silence. "All will go according to plan Vader do not worry yourself." He finally said sarcastically, and Vader rolled his eyes for the first time in a long while at his allies constant attitude towards serious matters.

"I will keep the Emperor from blowing a power coupling." He said with a grin. "You just make sure you send Admiral Refflet back to Alderaan, and when the order comes you get Nox away from Bestine, and get over there and get this war started." Kun subtly demanded his counterpart; who let it slide for the moment even though he did get annoyed by it.

"Now if you excuse me my lord Vader I must return to this quaint little gala. If I am gone too much longer I think that Isard fellow might grow suspicious of me. I will speak with you in due time. Kun out." Without another word he ended the transmission and Vader felt slightly put off by the other dark lord, but did not choose to dwell on it for the time being. There were far bigger things to worry about, and Vader would be sure not a thing would go off course.

For his destiny; his own chosen destiny depended upon everything falling into place just right. He would see that it all did.

(Dubrava, Surface of the World, Several Hours After Attack)

Kellia stood silently and unmoving where she stood. A cloak she wore covering he whole body and a hood over her head. She didn't want to be seen, or looked upon. She wanted to look dark, menacing maybe, but definitely a figure you wouldn't approach willingly.

She had seen it from orbit but being on the worlds surface was a whole other story. From the space above Kellia had exited hyperspace, and was greeted with a world entirely alight with exposed molten crust, rising dust into the atmosphere, and plasma burns covering at the least a sixth of the worlds surface.

The force to her felt darkened, and lessened for what had occurred here. Almost empty, but more of an empty feeling of loss rather than actual death itself.

Not only had the Empire snuffed away thousands of people she may have very well known, but they uncaringly slaughtered thousands of Dubravan civilians: men, women, and children, and Kellia felt their deaths echo through the force.

She stood at the bank of a marshy lake, and straight ahead of her lay the tropical usual looking swamps of Dubrava, but just several miles beyond there was a rising cloud of dust and debris. There were fires burning, Dubravans dead and even still dying. The stench of death, the rotting of corpses was already beginning to permeate the air. She could feel nothing in this moment, but a rising rage.

'_Kriffing idiots! I knew this was too sudden, too out of nowhere!' _She seethed as she knelt down and looked over a dead body that was close to her. She did not know how it had gotten here, but it was just a Dubravan. _'Probably just got out of there and died due to smoke inhalation.' _She guessed as she stood and began slowly walking along the bank of the lake, looking for more; if any, bodies.

She had landed after looking the planet over and was immediately met by Dubravans clamoring towards her. Some in fear and wanting off world as soon as possible, and others wanting to kill her for simply being from off world, and not a Dubravan. She had to display her lightsaber and swing it around a bit but soon everyone got out of her way.

"What a useless mess." She said aloud still moving in slow strides and took in the damage in the near distance. She rolled her eyes. "As opposed to a useful mess." She retorted to herself.

Kellia had noticed that every Dubravan had one of two looks upon their green faces. It was either one of sadness and fear, or one of anger and hatred. Some directed at her, but through the force she could sense their will to hurt and inflict pain upon those who were responsible for this. The Empire, and that slime known as Bail Organa.

She spat at the thought of his name. She had seen the senate broadcast when she touched down, and felt sick. _'Politicians, and there backstabbing ways will always prevail over a sense of decency I suppose. Which is why they all must pay the equal punishment for an equally terrible crime!' _She couldn't control the hatred she felt. The rage and nagging voice in the back of her mind telling her to retaliate. To kill, maim, murder, and impart upon the galaxy a sense of fairness. _'Death for death done to another I say! No more of this nonsensical halfway war! No more being the morally superior! We are dying and they are partying!'_

She thought with clenched fists at her sides. The dark side ever whispering in her ear to just let her rage loose. To do something, to anyone, and she couldn't allow herself do something like that not to these people not here of all places in the galaxy So she walked on hoping that her anger would dull in time.

It might have had Kellia not stopped dead in her tracks and sneered at the sight before her. There was a young looking Dubravan male crouched over the body of yet another dead man and he was taking his belt, his blaster, and everything in his pockets.

Only this time it wasn't a Dubravan corpse. It was a corpse of a rebel soldier of some unknown group to Kellia. Nonetheless it was someone like her. A man who cam here in the hope of actually coming together to fight the Empire, and ending Palpatine once and for all. She quickly slammed her eyes shut and tried so very hard to stop her hands from shaking; as they balled up harder and even painfully into fists again. The rage was too much. It crawled up her spine and she gritted her teeth in a horrid feeling, heart pounding, adrenaline rushing, and jaw clenching rage.

Activating her cerulean saber she jumped forward and grabbed the Dubravans shirt collar and yanked him away from the corpse roughly. He let out a choking yelp as she lifted him into the air with strength one wouldn't associate with her slender frame unless one saw her without sleeves of course.

"I do believe you are robbing the body of a dead man." She pointed out the obvious as she bore her dark eyes into his all dark alien eyes. "have you no respect for the dead? Heck why not steal from they dying too while you're at it you little worm?!" She spat and lifted him up higher into the air and waved her saber in front of him.

"Wa..wait just a minute now!" The Dubravan managed to choke out. He pulled on her hand but found he could not budge her grip and she grew more angry by the second.

"I was se…sent to take remains of all soldiers!" He again choked. She cocked a brow but her sneer didn't waiver.

"So someone in your family sent you to do this? Or maybe just a gang of your idiot and worthless friends maybe?" He struggled in her grasp some more.

"N…no it was a, uh rebel! You know one of you guys!" He assumed of course considering this woman got so angry over him touching a rebel corpse. Luckily for him she let him go and he went tumbling to the marshy ground below, and immediately clutched his sore neck, and coughed violently.

"Alright you've bought yourself a moment. I suggest you spit out everything you know now before I gut you here and now." She warned leaning in closer to his face as he looked up at her in horrified shock.

"Okay, okay! Geez for a rebel; and a lady rebel at that, you sure are mean one." He grumbled as he stood up.

"I am a Jedi first and foremost." She stated with unemotional pride. "Plus I'm having a bad day in case you couldn't tell. Many people I knew are after either dead here in this marshy swamp, or burning in that hell off in the distance!" She said as she shut off her saber; venom in each word she spat out.

"Now again, talk or this day will end very badly for you. I'm not here to chit chat or play any games!"

He put his webbed hands up trying to calm her. "Okay I get it, I get it you're a very serious woman." She just glared daggers at his statement. He again put his hands up.

"I was instructed by some rebel guy to go around looking for dead soldiers and take their weapons and gear. See I wanted to be one of you guys, and ya'know fight the evil Empire and all that heroic stuff. Not really a good day to sign up I see." He said, and Kellia found him rather annoyingly naïve but didn't say anything.

"He told me and a couple other guys that these dead guys here didn't need anything where they were going and said he wanted everything rounded up so he could spread it among his new recruits. I guess when he got them. There were allot of others with him too. A few rebels got away in transports in the nick of time."

To that Kellia seemed surprised. _'So some managed to get away then. I should find this group, and get them off world quickly.' _She thought to herself.

"Fine then. Want to prove your story then grave robber?" The Dubravan shook his head violently as she pointed her saber hilt at him.

"Good. Then you'll take me to these 'survivors.' We'll see if you just signed your death warrant or are telling the truth." He looked only slightly relieved.

"Alright then, so long as you don't stick me with the laser sword we're good." Kellia rolled her eyes and sighed.

"It's a lightsaber. Now move grave robber!" She demanded of him with a flick of her hand in a random direction.

"Okay, okay calm down! The name isn't grave robber either lady, it's Durbok!" She sneered in return.

"Kellia, now go, or else!" Durbok didn't bother saying anything. He just raised his hands in defeat yet again and quickly skirted past her and motioned for her to follow him.

She did so and they went on without talking. _'Little snake better be telling the truth or ill gut him before he can even blink!' _Kellia thought as she re-clipped her saber under her dark cloak. It would be some time before they reached their destination, but it would be quite the surprise when they did.

* * *

Here's something special everyone. Two chapters at once! I will be pumping chapters out a little faster hopefully and I do hope you guys enjoy what is about to happen in my chronicles! Read and review please! :) Oh and welcome to part 2 in our journey!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

(Coruscant, Imperial palace, Upper level halls)

Exar reattached his comlink to his belt and began to quickly walk back towards the massive room the Emperor had ordered to be used for this little "party," he had arranged. While in reality Kun knew that this gathering was far less one of celebration, and more of one that was to allow Palpatine to congratulate himself, and show everyone else that he was indeed the all mighty and powerful Emperor.

"Well the old man certainly does love to 'get off' on his power, doesn't he." Exar spoke aloud to himself as he walked along yet another empty marble floored corridor of this massive palace the Emperor called his own home. He had left the room sometime ago; which he assumed was a ballroom refitted to hold this gathering, so he could answer the incoming transmission from Vader in private. Only now that it was over with, he was starting to regret going so far away, but it was batter than having one of the Emperors cronies listening in on his calls he supposed. Especially one with as much importance such as that one.

It took him about three or five minutes to finally reach the force-forsaken room, but when he did he finally had time to really take in the overdone scenery of it. It had an unnecessary fountain directly in the middle of it that was in the formation of a rocky waterfall and it flowed pleasantly with water as was to be expected. There were also pillars that looked to be marble in make, and they lined the entire length of the room, and were spread about unnecessarily for the sheer sake of ornate decoration.

Exar noticed that the walls were covered in paintings, and silent repeating holoimages, the paintings displayed scenes of far off worlds with vast green fields or majestically tall snowcapped mountains. While the holoimages either portrayed Palpatine making a speech and receiving grand applause, or a pitched battle with imperials winning in the end of course. The floor was simple but sparkling white marble that matched the pillars, and there were several rugs spread across the room in strategically placed areas for, again, the sake of looking lavish.

'_It's good to be the master of the galaxy I see.' _Kun thought as he crossed his arms. _'I think I'll need a decorator when this is all mine.' _He smirked at the such an idea.

"Lord Kun, there you are!" The voice of Armand Isard came from Kuns left quickly catching his attention away from the room. The Imperial Intelligence director was wearing a red outfit that was apparently common of the man and of the Intelligence officers. Kun had spoken to him for a short amount of time and tried to gauge where the man 'stood' so to speak. Much to Exars distaste, however, he was an obvious proponent of the Emperor and his power over all the galaxy. _'A common lackey, unable to see past the old mans lifespan.' _Kun had thought after meeting with him.

Much to Kuns intrigue however, Armand was approaching him with a woman at his side. Oddly enough she had locks of white hair to the front of what was otherwise all black hair, and on top of that she had one blue eye and another was red. _'Now this should be interesting.' _

Kun thought as he nodded towards Armand who continued to approach with the woman at his side.

"Lord Kun I had wanted you to meet someone before you had to answer your call." Armand said politely as he placed his hands behind his back. "This is my daughter, Ysanne Isard. She is an agent with me in Imperial Intelligence. She works under me as a field agent, for now anyways." He said without much pride which caught the immediate interest of Kun.

'_Hmm, that explains the white hair thing.' _Kun realized as he noticed Armand had similar white hair. Only he had a streak of it that gave him a distinguished older look. She on the other hand had quite a bit of it.

Kun noted that while Armand wore his uniform, she wore a flowing golden dress that hung rather loosely in Kuns mind and exposed quite a bit of skin. But he just shrugged it off as a trivial observation on his part.

"It's a pleasure to meet you milady." Exar greeted as he grabbed and shook her hand gently. She gave him a quizzical look over and then smirked an oddly calculating smirk if Exar had ever seen one before.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lord Kun. I have after all heard of your actions against those who would do our Empire, and our Emperor harm." She returned with a smirk still obvious upon her face. Kun had just met her, and already sensed great darkness, and shrewdness coming from her. _'Now this is indeed interesting.' _He thought as a smirk appeared on his face as well.

"I assure you, milady Isard, the story has been exaggerated by now. All I did was work alongside Bail Organa in rounding up all these dissenters into one spot so lord Vader could deliver onto them the fate they have for far too long deserved."

She huffed out a chuckle in return.

"Ah yes, I was quite surprised to learn of the dear senators' actions against 'those' people. From all that I and Imperial Intelligence knew, he was a sympathizer to the very core." She informed Kun with what he thought was a subtly accusatory tone of voice. _'Not quite as gullible I see.' _Kun thought as he just kept smirking.

"Well only a select few of us; Imperials I mean, knew of Bail Organas true allegiance. It's no longer a secret of course, so I think I'm safe in saying the information was confined to myself, lord Vader, and the Emperor himself of course. Not even you knew of Organas true affiliation, Armand. Am I correct?" The Intelligence Director looked slightly uncomfortable and cleared his throat.

"No I did not. Not until his majesty recently informed me at least." He said still seeming uncomfortable at saying so in front of his daughter.

Exar held out one of his hand towards Armand. "You see? Not even your father; Imperial Intelligence Director for all the Empire, knew of Organas true allegiance!" With that Ysanne cocked one of her brows and gave her father a sideways look.

"Indeed you're right about that my lord. Interesting indeed." She simply responded. "I however find it odd that I nor my father even heard about you until recently as well. Let's say about five weeks ago or maybe slightly longer than that." She said and then sipped a glass of some sort of red wine Kun only now noticed in one of her hands.

Kun shrugged both his arms in a nonchalant manner.

"To be honest milady I had only recently joined the Empire under our gracious Emperor not too long ago. A short time before you even heard of me I was more of a…fee-spirited enthusiast of politics. At least that's the way I would put it." The dark lord said in his best ever political voice.

To which Ysanne simply nodded with a smile and said, "Ah, I see."

Armand had after his embarrassing response, remained quiet throughout his daughters little exchange with Kun, and when he saw someone in the distance that he recognized he couldn't have excused himself any faster, and departed the pair as they continued on with their conversation.

Now that Kun was left alone with this Ysanne Isard he decided to have a tad bit of fun.

"So with all the questions and observations you've made of and for me do you mind if I make one, milady Isard?" Exar asked the woman who nodded her approval.

"Why would a young woman such as yourself choose to work under her own father in a business that I can imagine is not very forgiving of failures of any kind?" Ysanne waved his question off.

"I chose to work in Imperial Intelligence because I grew up amongst the courts of the Emperor, or rather the Chancellor as he was known at the time, and I even idolized my father in those earlier days when he was 'Director of the Senate Bureau of Intelligence.' He took me with him all the time to deal with his work and I quickly grew a fascination for it all. The intrigue, espionage, even the backstabbing of the courts always seemed more like a game. Then there is the fact that you gather and analyze the smallest of details in a person, or persons' life, and through intelligence it's quite easy to rule over any one or group, or Empire as you so choose, my lord. As such here I now stand. A proud ground agent of Imperial Intelligence. Working to serve, protect, and aid the Emperor in any and all ways possible!" She said, and Kun noted she said Emperor and not the Empire.

"Ah so you idolized your father back then, but how about now? If you don't mind my asking of course?" Exar asked as he leaned himself against a nearby pillar. She in turn slightly shrugged.

"I believe my fathers time has come, and gone. I believe he is becoming more and more obsolete as the years carry on. He is too stuck in the past and the old ways of intelligence gathering and assessment, in a time of ever changing tactics and threats as well." She honestly replied without much emotion being shown whatsoever towards her father.

"So you believe that it is time someone new took his place then? A fresh pair of eyes maybe?" Kun asked, and then he smirked. "Perhaps a fresh pair of blue and red eyes?" Exar tactically quipped to which she only returned a small smile.

"That would not be my decision of course, my lord. Should the opportunity ever arise and if his majesty ever wished it of me I would surely have to do my duty as a loyal Imperial and take the job." She took another sip of wine, and Kun chuckled ever so slightly.

"Ah I see. An opportunist of the more influential aspirations." Kun said, pushing himself off the pillar. "You may yet get your chance someday my dear. You never know what will round the corner and come biting at your ankles like a rabid Nexu on a hunger frenzy." Exar declared and received a cocked brow from her in return.

Exar looked over to his right and caught a glimpse of the Emperor speaking with another man in a grey outfit; standard of the imperials of course. He looked back to Ysanne.

"Forgive me, my dear but I must excuse myself. I have to speak with the Emperor on several small matters concerning the Dubrava incident." He said with a bow. "Oh, and before I go, may I just say one last thing." He declared rather than really asked as he didn't give her time to say yes or no.

"Always know that those who hold power: a council, a man, a political group, perhaps even a father, are always afraid of loosing their power when the challenge or challenger finally arises. One must recognize that in order to ever seize power for themselves they must cast those in their way aside; no matter the ultimate cost. However; remember this as well. Opportunities to disgrace those in power are always available. It's only up to you to find and exploit it, and any other weakness that presents itself. For once those in power seem powerless it is the duty of the truly powerful to take their place."

Kun said in the best cryptic way he could, but knew she understood what he was saying.

She finally cast him a small look of surprise mixed with scorn; that he felt not directed at himself. He responded with another bow and a renewed grin. "Until the next time we meet milady. Please enjoy yourself, and think hard on what exploits are always open for you or anyone as ambitious as you!"

With that he turned on a heel and made for the Emperor; with the distinct feeling of eyes on his back as he went.

For tonight Exar Kun would mingle with people of all kinds of status and power. Something he knew he would have to get used to if he was to one day rule over them all.

(Unknown)

The first thing he noticed was fire was burning all around him. There was the distinct sound of TIE fighters and bombers overhead and speeding past his sight into the great fray beyond him. Beyond where smoke was rising, buildings were crashing and falling, and people were dying, and dying some more.

Screaming was everywhere, and death was all he could "sense," in every one of his senses. He could smell something burning, _'Is it metallic, or rubbery in nature?' _he asked himself.

He could taste ash, or at least his mind said made it seem as if he could, or was he simply loosing his mind?

He could hear death, crying, agonizing death, and pleas for help, but he would not help them. For those who cried for it were not his brethren. They were not of his side. Those who died were his enemies and he knew they needed to die.

He saw blood, and bodies littering the ground. Blaster bolts flying, artillery ringing, and ships flying overhead and firing to the ground below in planet shaking waves of energy blasts.

Finally he touched his left hand. How was touching his own hand touching death? It was if considered how much he had done with but this hand alone. Killed hundreds, thousands maybe? Ordered far more than that slaughtered, atomized, snuffed out from existence. He held a saber hilt not his own and cut down man and woman, and even child. Their cries unheard for, and uncared for.

For all things here needed to die and he was here to insure that they all did.

(Alderaan, Aldera Palace)

Viathan jumped up from his seat with a start. His breathing was ragged and hard. His eyes immediately felt heavy once again as they worriedly scanned the room, and he felt a headache begin to pound away in his temples. After he remembered that he was indeed in his masters quarters in Aldera palace he grabbed hi head in pain. "Oh force." Was all he could mutter. As he tried to further gather his bearings on why he jumped.

It came to him, but only in fragmented bits and pieces as he remembered the dream he had just had. Only once before had he experienced one similar, and that was quite awhile ago on back on Coruscant.

'_Fighting those damnable rebels must have messed with my head more than I realized.' _Viathan explained it away to himself, but knew it didn't account for the one he had on Coruscant when he first met his new master.

He chose not to dwell on it though, and went back to his masters desk; still holding onto his now pounding head. On it he found many reports that he had filled out and signed about his mission results, and operations conducted in Aldera, Terrarium, and Belleasu-a-Lir cities. As well as one that was half finished, and he assumed it was the one he fell asleep on, and for that he chastised himself.

After all he had trained for years to not fall asleep so easily, and to be instantly put into full alertness upon awakening. He sighed and turned off the datapad and decided to complete it on a later date.

Resolving to himself that he wasn't going to get anymore sleep Viathan made for the rooms exit. Upon leaving Viathan was blasted with a ray of "sunshine," and had to hold a hand over his eyes as it only made his headache worse off.

"I must have been out longer than originally thought." He said aloud to himself. Passing the two Massassi guardsmen he nodded in their direction and decided to just walk his headache off and maybe go train for a while to get his mind off things, and well just wake up.

Again passing through the long and ornate halls and corridors of Aldera palace Viathan noted that now that it was midmorning many more Alderaanian officials were walking about and going from one room to the other. He ignored most of them, and the few that cast him sideways looks or glares he merely nodded towards them and quickly caused them to act as if they weren't looking at him.

Imperial officers were also walking the halls with usually two troopers flanking them, and the officers would randomly stop Alderaanian palace workers and force upon them the long and rather annoying identification and processing act. Viathan knew that it wasn't really necessary to do this to the palace workers, but he wasn't about to stop the officer from doing their jobs. After all the Alderaanians needed to be reminded for the time being that the Empire, not Alderaan was the victor here.

Rounding another random corner Viathan found himself face to face with a familiar figure, and immediately became nervous. _'Ah sithspit.' _He inwardly cursed as he came upon none other than princess Leia, and she did not look happy in the least when she noticed him.

"Good morning milady." Viathan quickly greeted with a bow. "I'm glad to see you look…err healthy." he inwardly smacked himself. _'You look healthy? Who the kriff says something so stupid?!'_

She marched closer to him and crossed her arms as her face seemed already red with anger that Viathan; quite frankly, didn't know what it was directed at, and he didn't know if he wanted to know in the first place.

"Yes good morning to you too 'pacifier.'" She slowly quipped in return. "All morning I've had to hear nothing but how the 'oh Empire did this and the Empire did that!' All across the galaxy people are going absolutely crazy with Imperial pride, and your Empire has done nothing more than kill people to gain that adoration!" She loudly declared in an accusatory tone, and pointed a small finger right in his face to which he did his best to ignore. "Did you know that there are rallies practically partying in the streets of Coruscant, Anaxes, Kuat, and Corulag!? For nothing more than people being killed; no not killed that's too kind a word, they were massacred!" She hotly declared with venom in her voice that Viathan found unusual for a girl only thirteen years of age.

"My princess, I don't know what you want me to say to that." He replied in full honesty. "I told you that I had to put down the rebellion taking place here. Your planet is after all apart of the Galactic Empire whether you like it or not. As for the other events taking place across the galaxy I had nothing to do with them." Viathan replied with as proper a voice that he could muster, as tiredness still gripped his mind. "May I remind you that these rebels were attacking Aldera and nearly killed you and Winter. They were hiding in civilian housing and amongst the civilian population of Crevasse, and had it not been for my ordering the orbital strike protocol being initiated we would perhaps still be knee deep in rebel guerilla attacks on not only my people but yours as well." Viathan retorted without trying to raise his voice.

He didn't have the will to hear the princess screech at him, and he knew she had quite the temper.

"Yes I'm well aware of what you did in Crevasse, and I'm well aware that it caused massive damage to the city's top and first levels. Collateral damage was incurred correct?!" Viathan knew she wasn't really asking as she was more so accusing him.

He sighed deeply. "Yes princess, there was collateral but I can assure you it was not my doing. At least not the majority. Indeed to my knowledge the rebels are greatly responsible for the mass collateral that was incurred at Crevasse. Their unwillingness to surrender and not hide amongst civilians population centers, and market territories is what led to the populace going insane with fear and desperately trying to evacuate!" He replied with slight anger creeping into his voice.

"In fact there were maybe hundreds of rebels still unwilling to surrender in the end and had it not been for your fathers little collaboration with my master I would still be fighting them. The attack on Dubrava ended all this violence here on Alderaan, and as a sign of goodwill I handed all surrendering troops over to Alderaanian authorities!" He ended his tirade with a huff, and only then noticed that the princess wasn't looking at him anymore and instead was looking out an adjacent window of the palace.

Viathan sensed through the force, great pain coming from her and when he cocked his head to the side he saw a tear escape her eye. _'Kriffing hell! I didn't mean to upset her!' _He again chastised himself for possibly the third time this morning and rubbed his eyes in tiredness.

"You must forgive me my princess. I did not mean to get so hostile with…." She held up a hand to him before he could finish.

"You didn't upset me. It…it's my father." Viathan didn't understand what she meant at first, but then it dawned upon him that she had only known her father as the man that hated the Empire and all that it stood for. To hear that her father Bail Organa had been an agent of the Emperor must have been world shattering for her.

'_I cant tell her otherwise either.' _He told himself. If he even let her think that he knew her father to be framed then he would surely bring his masters plans tumbling down. Viathan couldn't have that.

"I cant believe that he did this. I cant believe he lied to me all my life! He never let me in, never let me help fight the damnable Empire, and now I know why! He was nothing more than an imperial dog! A betrayer and a crony of the Emperor! I hate him!" She declared with great anger, as he voice trembled with emotion.

Viathan knew she was a staunch enemy of the Empire, heck the whole galaxy knew Alderaan to be rogue in that regard. So her saying as such wasn't anything new, but her anger, and even rage that was flowing from her. That was new to Viathan.

"Oh, yes I heard about that not too long before the battle was over." Viathan responded as he fiddled with his hands uneasily. "I had not really thought about your reaction to tell you the truth, milady. For what it's worth I am sorry that you had to…'discover,' your fathers allegiance this way." Viathan said and continued to fidget about as he increasingly became more uncomfortable.

"Thank you." She responded still looking downcast. "I shouldn't have blown up on you really. I knew that you were going to do what your 'master,' and job demanded of you. Besides I knew these rebels to be not what I had expected." She finally said as she nonchalantly flicked a tear away hoping Viathan wasn't paying too much attention to her momentary show of weakness. She hated looking or feeling weak.

Viathan tilted his head to a side. "What do you mean princess?"

She shrugged and let out a sigh. "I don't know. I just figured rebels against the Empire to be heroic, and not hide among civilians where it's obvious innocents will die in the crossfire. That's of course not to say I trust the Empire to protect civilians. Quite the opposite actually, but…I did trust you when you said you wanted to limit collateral damage, and I think you stuck to your word as best you possibly could."

She admitted with the faintest of smiles appearing on her face.

Viathan shrugged. "I did as best I could in a rotten situation from the start, milady. My orders from Coruscant were clear, and I indeed did all I could to fulfill that directive. I did however use your father to a good end, I think." Viathan declared and Leia raised an incredulous brow.

"Really, and what is that?"

"Well my masters speech declaring your fathers allegiance did break the fighting spirit of all the rebels left standing, and most surrendered after I broadcasted it over their com channels. I know it's a sad thing to break a mans will to fight, but in return for their surrender I did hand them all over to Alderaanian authorities if you remember my telling you so, and thus limited any further damage by them." Viathan grimaced midway though. "There were of course some who decided surrender wasn't an option for them and, well blasted themselves." He said pointing contorting his hand into the shape of a blaster and shooting his own head, to which she grimaced. "They were mostly the leaders of the uprising we believe." Viathan pointed out and Leia again sighed.

"I guess that is something out of this…this whole massive mess."

Viathan nodded in turn, and felt again uncomfortable at the silence that then fell between the two.

Leia was the one to suddenly break it. "So, when do we begin that training you wanted me to try?" Seemingly out of nowhere she asked and Viathan immediately jumped ever so slightly backwards in surprise.

"You, you mean you still want to do that? I mean I just figured that you wouldn't want to now with all the change you're, uh going through." Viathan explained and she waved him off with an oddly broad smile.

"Well I'm not about to let…him," she spat as she thought of Bail, "ruin my chances at being able to move things with my mind now!" Viathan found it really odd that she suddenly seemed in a better mood, but he couldn't complain really.

"That is if you still want to teach me how of course." She pointed out with a suddenly downcast voice.

He was quick to wave both hands. "No, no of course I still want to, I just didn't think…well I already said that." He said with a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. She smiled in return.

"Great! So when do we start?" She happily asked.

Viathan thought for a moment, and remembered that he had planned on training a bit to get ready for the day ahead.

"Well we can start in just a bit if you would like milady. I see you're uh, not really dressed for physical activities." He pointed out and she cast her eyes down to another one of her long flowing white dresses, and she cast him an annoyed look. "Yeah, yeah I see what you mean." She said swiping away nonexistent specks of dirt from her dress.

"Tell you what my princess; go get into a short sleeved and expendable shirt and some jeans and come meet me at the sparring room one level down; you know the room I speak of?" He asked and she nodded.

"Good, meet me there in say thirty minutes, and I assure you I will get straight to the training I've promised you, okay?" She nodded, but then gave him a perplexed look.

"Wait why does the shirt need to be expendable? I thought you were gonna teach me how to use the force?" He let one chuckle escape him.

"Because milady, we're first going to show you how to hold, use, and fight with a lightsaber!" He excitedly declared as he picked up one of his own hilts and displayed it before her. To which she only slightly grimaced.

"Alright then. I'll meet you in thirty minutes." She said as she passed him and made her way down the hall he had come from.

"You better deliver on your promises Imperial." She called out to him with a lighthearted threat and a smile. To which he waved her off with a smile of his own.

"You better be worth my time, milady." To that she slightly giggled and left his sight, and left him feeling rather odd. _'Shake it off Viathan! Today you make a princess a Sith acolyte! No time for friends in the matter. You don't have, need, or want any friends!' _He declared to himself resolutely and turned on his heel and made for an elevator shaft on his floor. A frown now returned to its usual place upon his face.

It was time to prepare for a first time training session, and he would be damned if he was going to screw this up!

(Outside the Bestine System, Imperial Stardestroyer Conquest, Several hours After speech)

"It is settled then!" Nox declared to the roundtable of fellow; now outlawed, Moffs. "We shall take Bestine; by force if nothing else, and then demand of the Emperor return of our statuses our estates, greater pay, and more political say in matters concerning the Empire." Nox reiterated the points. To which all the fellow Moffs nodded. One of the Moffs present was a holoimage as he could not leave his base world and it was the old Moff Laird Gustavu.

"Let us not forget what is to be done should his majesty deny us these simple demands; which if we're honest is likely." Laird pointed out, and Nox nodded in understanding.

"Yes we all must be prepared for that course of action. Should Palpatine be foolish enough to deny us these most simple of demands. We will wage open, and total war upon he, his lackey Darth Vader, that upstart Exar Kun, and all those loyal to him!" All the Moffs there save for Nox and Laird let out a small clap of hands and short audible bursts of approval.

"Let me be clear here gentlemen. What we're about to undertake this day will undo all that we helped build up. There is no turning back from this point on, and let us go forward knowing that what we strive for is a better galaxy. Ruled not by a madman and his genocidal lap hound, but by men of status, of culture, and of ability to rule that both these men have never shown! Let us make this Empire ours, or make a new one altogether! Hail the Moff Alliance!" Nox declared as he pounded a fist into the table and all the Moffs once again cheered.

Nox allowed all those present to leave the meeting room, and those transmitting in via holo to end their transmission before he sat down and re-launched the transmission to Laird.

The old Moffs image soon came into view and he bowed his head forward. "Grand Moff Nox Vellam. I was told to expect your call, but I had not expected to be dragged into that surreal meeting." Laird declared in a polite, but political manner.

Nox nodded. "Many apologies Moff Gustavu, but the others have already heard your name, and I did not want them to believe this was our first communication between one another. It may have smelt wrong to these power hungry fools." Laird lifted one hand into the air.

"True enough. Lord Vader would be please with what you have accomplished I believe Nox. It's a wonder the Emperor has not learned of this plan."

Nox ran one hand through his short brown hair and huffed out his anxiety.

"Yes I grow more and more worried about that fact every hour. This plan has gone by too well, and I assume I have Lord Vader to thank for that." Nox admitted but then shook himself.

"No matter. What's done is done and what's going to happen will happen whether lord Vader or the Emperor wants it to at this point quite frankly/ I don't even think I could call this off now if I wanted."

"As is the way of things Moff Vellam." Laird retorted blandly.

Nox let loose a chuckle. "Indeed it is, but I did not com you to discuss this trivial matter. Lord Vader had informed me that you would be backing us with more troops and influence from your region in the Colonies. As you know we will not have any influence in that region of the galaxy, and you will effectively be cut off from there." Nox intoned.

Laird chuckled a deep chuckle. "You underestimate what has been unfolding here in the Tapani Sector dear Moff Vellam. The Tapani noble houses have all been bribed, and accommodated for and will be bankrolling much of our ventures in time. I have begun negotiations with the 'League of Tapani Freeworlds,' as I have most of my loyal forces stationed there, and we may soon have a multiple of non Imperial combatants at out disposal." Nox smirked.

"Indeed? Well then I see I did not need to trouble you with my anxieties Moff Gustavu." Nox declared with another laugh. "I look forward to making history and attaining unimaginable power with you Moff Gustavu." Nox said.

"As do I Moff Vellam, as do I." Laird retorted and then his image jolted and faded away. Leaving Nox to sit back into his chair and sigh

'_This is going to be hell on my nerves.' _The time for war was fast approaching.

* * *

Spelling errors may be present and I would appreciate any corrections pointed out, but otherwise enjoy this lengthy and wordy chapter. For action is coming up fast my great readers! Thanks again for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Coruscant, Imperial Palace)

Night had come and quickly gone and Exar found himself standing on his rooms balcony as he was unable to get even the slightest wink of rest in the night before. It was now midmorning and the star of Coruscant was rising decently high into the skyline of the ever lively capital of the galaxy. He stood silently recalling the night before, for it had been a night that he could not possibly forget if he wished to attain the power he craved in the near future. _'So many important people, or; at least; they think so of themselves anyways.'_ He chuckled off the self importance and arrogance of those he had mingled with in the Emperors little party. The Emperor himself being a member of that group.

Exar recalled meeting with men like one named Crueya Vandron. Apparently he was a founding member of some organization Exar assumed to be vitally important to Palpatine by the name of 'COMPNOR,' and apparently aided in the founding of another by the designation of the 'Imperial Security bureau.' An organization Exar also deduced to be a rival of Imperial intelligence, and at least to some degree larger than said intelligence ministry.

Besides meeting with the likes of Ysanne Isard, and Vandron, he had mingled with the likes of men like one worm named Janus Greejatus, a man Kun found completely useless, and found his very menial grasp of the force to be thoroughly laughable in all degrees. His hatred spilling off of him towards aliens was also interesting as Kun knew aliens to be inferior to humans in all possible manners, but the mans hatred for them was one of petty reasoning. Loss of wealth he deduced, Greejatus didn't even try to hide his thoughts and they broadcasted themselves loudly and even proudly through the force. It was enough to make Kun roll his eyes, _'What an imbecile that one is.' _

Nonetheless, Kun was pleased that he had met with men and women from all across the galaxy. Nobles, ministry directors, dark side adepts, senators, and military men. All of whom Kun was sure he would need to either deal with or subjugate in future times. He was quite intrigued when he was introduced to dark side wielders by the designation of Inquisitors.

They were of course pitifully powerful in the force, and even attempted to break through his mental barriers and enter his mind oh so rudely. Kun laughed at the memory of sending a psychic scream through the force as one of them attempted to breach his mind for at least the this time that night. As such, he watched on with dark glee as all those who could feel the force in the room suddenly tensed up in sudden and sharp pain; save for the Emperor who merely chuckled his dark chuckle, and all the rest cast him a glare. To which he just smiled and looked at them all. It was all power play and he was the obvious victor as none would dare confront him.

Ah well; that long day was done and over with.

'_Now all we need to do is wait for that blasted call, and this whole galaxy will awake to the drums of war!' _Kun laughed out loud at the reminder and did not care in the least to hide his obvious elation. After all he was alone, after being provided his quarters that Palpatine had let him use the first time he was brought to Coruscant those many weeks ago.

'_How long ago that seems to me.' _He thought with an odd sense of nostalgia coming over him. _'It doesn't matter anymore I suppose though. I have attained power, and fame I couldn't have even begin to hope for in those early days! I truly am on my way up! Every day I get closer to finally grasping that power I have for too long been denied!' _Exar said as he idly gripped one hand into a fist and looked blankly on towards the Coruscanti skyline. Images of grandeur, power, love, and adoration filling his mind.

Now all he need to attain this was the death of several billion at the least. Was that too much to ask for?

(Alderaan, Aldera palace)

Viathan idly twirled one crimson saber to his side and listened to the 'whooshing,' noise all sabers made when swung about. It had been about twenty minutes since he had confronted Leia in that random palace corridor and expected her any moment now. He had shed himself of his long flowing outer robes and now stood in a simple all black getup. A simple sleeveless black shirt, and long black pants that were tucked into large black boots that were typical of him to wear. Looking down towards himself Viathan briefly wondered why black or grey was always the norm of Imperial dark side adepts. But, then he considered the fact that everyone openly said they used the 'dark side,' of the force it was kind of obvious that everyone had a personality complex that practically required them to wear black.

Suddenly the door to the room slid open and none other than the Alderaanian princess herself walked in. Viathan cocked an eyebrow at the sight of her. She herself wore an; at this point stereotypical white short sleeved shirt, with similar but more ragged pants and even boots of her own. Her hair was propped up into a simple bun, but otherwise she looked normal, but for Viathan it was so casual it was almost odd to him.

"Uh, what?" She asked as she caught Viathan looking her over intensely. She herself looking down towards her shirt as if something might be there. He mentally slapped himself for his rudeness.

"Forgive me, my princess. I was just looking over you attire. It's fitting for what we're about to do today." He quickly informed her as he began to walk over to an adjacent table with several of his masters training sabers laid out. "Oh, well okay then, I guess." She responded as she followed him to the table.

"So, care to explain what exactly I'm going to be doing is? I mean I know what a lightsaber is. It's just that I never…well held one before." She told him with uncertainty in her voice.

Viathan wasn't looking at her and was instead placing his now deactivated saber hilts onto the table and picking several others up and testing their relative weight to the next. "Understandable milady." He responded casting a quick look and understanding nod to her as she came to stand at his side.

"I was uncertain myself when I had to use a lightsaber for the first time. I quickly got the hang of it, and I'm more than sure you will too."

"Really, and why is that?" She quickly asked him.

"Ah yes that is the question isn't it?" Viathan responded causing her to roll her eyes. He chuckled in turn.

"I and all those who use a lightsaber have to be at least rudimentarily powerful and learned in the ways of the force. Those blind to it would sooner cut off a limb or worse, kill themselves." Viathan informed as he finally found a saber to his liking. While Leia on the other hand grimaced.

"Sounds…fun." Trepidation was obvious in her voice.

"Indeed." Was all he said in retort, and held up the saber hilt to her. "Here use this one." She grabbed it and moved it back and forth through the air.

"It feels lighter than expected."

"Yes it is quite the difference from a regular vibrobade in terms of weight. This is one of the many reasons those who cannot feel the force are hard pressed to master a sophisticated weapon like the lightsaber." Viathan explained as he grabbed another hilt and pulled her over to the center of the rather large room.

"Don't worry my princess you'll be fine. After all these are just training sabers." He said trying to sooth her worries.

"Yeah and what can they do?"

Viathan shrugged in an easy going manner. "These particular models just cause small burning stings, or at the worst bruises or welts. I assure you milady you'll be absolutely safe." He said as he activated his own saber and a magnificent shade of bright red sprung forward. "After all without pain, how does one hope to learn from past mistakes?" Viathan said and twirled his new saber in large circles from one side of himself to the other, in a display he hoped impressed the princess. She in turn gave him a cocked brow of her own.

"Pain doesn't always lead one to learn anything, or more power Viathan." He gave her a sharp perplexed look.

"Oh really? How do you know this milady? I have been trained practically since birth in this manner, and it has brought me power unknown to many in the galaxy. Of course there are those who know pain greater than I and they have attained power you and I can only imagine." He declared to which she crossed her arms in a manner Viathan once again thought more fitting for someone much older than her.

"Pain does not substitute wisdom, and knowledge attained through years of patience and guidance from the elder and much wiser than oneself." She in retort declared firmly. Her nose held high in the air and giving the older boy a look as if she were the oldest one among them.

Viathan made a 'hmm," noise and stroked his chin. "Indeed that is a valid argument my dear, but forgive me for asking. Was your father the one who told you that?" He asked in a manner that he knew was a jab at her fragile emotions. So as expected she gave him a hard glare and her face contorted to a sneer.

"So what if he did?! That doesn't change anything that I said or makes it not right!" She angrily asked as her face burned red with immediate animosity at the mentioning. "Just because he has proven that he in fact knows absolutely nothing about wisdom himself doesn't mean the points he made are invalid." Viathan gave a small smile.

"Do you feel that anger you are experiencing right this moment milady? That is but another way to achieving power with the force." She seemingly calmed slightly and looked down to the floor in what seemed to be confusion.

"Pain, anger, hatred, rage, fear, and even lust. These are all emotions that are wrought with intense power in the force. One must learn to utilize their anger, their fear and hatred, their lust for greater power and knowledge and channel it into the force! For once they do they achieve power greater than the most powerful of Jedi or any stardestroyer!" He declared with a raised fist. "For through the force all things are possible, and nothing can contend with it's unlimited and unfathomable power!" He further declared.

She in turn sighed. "Well if that's true then how about you prove it to me and then I'll believe you." She said with a ghost of a smirk. To which he raise his hand in mock defeat. "So you're one of those I'll believe it when I see it eh? Okay than, let's get started." He said and quickly walked over to her side from his spot.

"Okay, to start off you need to learn basic form." He grabbed her arms and took to a standing position directly behind her, and brought his face over her right shoulder.

"Hold your saber hilt outstretched in front of you like this." He said as she clutched the hilt with both of her hands with his own hands directions and looked intently forward.

"Now this particular hilt uses a sliding switch to activate it, and therefore you don't need to hold onto it. Most however require a constant finger on a button for ones own safety purposes." He said and moved one of her hands up the hilt onto the switch. She flipped the switch forward and slightly jumped at the sight of the red beam bursting to life in front of her.

She chuckled nervously. "Wow, I thought it would be well at least a little bit hot."

Viathan nodded in understanding. "It would be were it not for a force containment field guarding you from the heat of the plasma. It does not, however, protect you, anything, or anyone from the plasma when contact is made directly with the beam. Of course that is for a normal saber. If you remember this one is but a training variant. The fields these create are far more intense and protect you, and anyone else from serious harm." He informed as he relaxed his hands off of hers and slowly backed away from her allowing her to slowly mover the saber about; still clutching the hilt with both hands.

She seemed transfixed and a smile even appeared upon her features as she got used to holding the near weightless weapon in front of her. Viathan nodded his approval silently to himself. _'Okay that went better than hoped for.' _He felt relieved as he had not known what to expect from training another in things he was already well learned in.

"Alright now swing it around a bit and get a general feel for it, and then tell me when you feel used to it at least to some degree." He said with another small smile, and walked back over to his position some feet away from her. She nodded without really paying much attention to him as she danced around with the blade in a manner that let Viathan know she was absolutely enthralled with the weapon. _'This shouldn't be too hard.' _He conceded and decided to let her have her fun for a short time longer.

She went from both hands to holding it with one and began waving it around for a small amount of time and then devolved into tossing it from one hand to the other. Finally Viathan interrupted her fun.

"Alright, alright enough fun. It's time for some real practice, my princess." She turned and looked towards him with an annoyed sideways look on her face before she conceded and walked over towards him. He lifted a hand up, "Stop there." He commanded to which she jerked to a quick stop. "I want you to charge at me and try to hit me now." A perplexed look immediately came over her face.

"Uh, you want me to just…run at you?"

He nodded with a smile on his face. "Yes I do. Don't worry princess you wont hurt me. These are after all just training saber remember?" He reminded her again as he activated his own saber and held it out in front of himself in the same manner he had her do moments ago.

She in turn did the same and looked slightly awkward and unsure of herself. He sent her a nod of approval and she shrugged to herself and then charged at him with saber still pointing directly outwards from her.

He quickly slammed his saber to her charging attack and twirled around and then behind her as she came to a sudden stop and flung herself around to face him. A look of annoyance was on her face and made Viathan laugh. "What? Did you think it would be that easy to hit me? I have been doing this for longer than a decade milady." She scoffed.

"Yeah, well what do you want me to do now?" She demanded of him, still looking annoyed.

"Okay come at me again and try and hit me. This time I'm going to stand completely still. Let us see if you can get through my defenses." She rolled her eyes and brought her saber forward once again and he did the same in turn.

She charged again, this time flinging her saber over her head instinctively and brought it down upon him with a grunt. He brought his own saber up and blocked her and brought them both to a momentary standstill. She slid her saber off of his and quickly sent hard and even violent attacks upon his saber. Each time he blocked it and she continued to wildly swing at him from side to side, over and over again. Suddenly Viathan sensed a ripple through the force and brought his saber to a hard stop at his left and met her saber as she swung around in place and tried to hit his side.

Their sabers clashed and small spark flew, and she made what almost sounded like a snarl. She was breathing hard and was looking intently at him.

"How did you block that!" She demanded. He lowered his saber and she brought hers back up to her, and he waved her off.

"The force is not merely a tool for us to simply move things, and control things with the power of levitation; or to put it simply, telekinesis. It can warn us when trouble is near, or about to happen. It can also form bonds between beings, and when another you have bonded with; say a child of yours, is in danger or even has died you can feel a ripple through the force." He explained and noticed her nodding in understanding.

"Your continuous feint would work upon an unsuspecting and untrained duelist, but against one with the force and skill in lightsaber combat it became easy to detect and block against." She huffed.

"Then how about you teach me how to use the force then! And not play with these sabers because I obviously cant get past you!" She exclaimed with great annoyance and anger rippling off her in the force. Viathan smiled in return however.

"I will milady, I assure you I will. However, what you don't understand yet is that you must unleash your untapped, your raw power in the force, and the best way to do this; I believe, is to let loose your anger and your frustrations. Via combat, I will not only teach you how to duel with a saber, but how to also let your power free, and as I said, only through your anger can that be done." She gripped her saber and held it out in front of her again. A look of determination in both her brown eyes as she did so.

"Very well than!" She cried out, and with quickness not expected by Viathan she slammed her saber in an upwards slash at his side, and he met her with his own saber. He sent her nod of approval and smirked as she scowled further and forcefully pushed his saber downwards to the metal floor below. Advancing on her target she attacked with a downward strike followed swiftly by twirling her body around and slamming her saber again into his saber, and then attempting a strike at his other side, and then back to the other, and over and over again several times. Each time she made contact she grew more and more intent on hitting him, and breaking through his defenses. To show him that she could easily break past his supposed "skill" and beat him down!

Viathan could feel the raw power within her being slowly called out from within. Every moment she grew more and more desperate to get past his defenses and he knew that she; whether she knew it or not, was channeling all the anger she had built up within her, all due to her father, and was pouring every once of that raw anger into her attacks. "Very good! Your resolve is indeed strong, but your strikes are weak, unfocused and wild! You may attack with all your might princess but you will not, and cannot defeat me!" He verbally goaded her causing a very audible and out of character snarl to erupt from her.

She brought her red saber down upon him from his left, and he quickly turned his saber onto its side and blocked it. But, then she came at him from the same spot again, and then again. Each strike more raw more angry and more violent. He actually found his saber being bounced back towards him as his strength waned and realized she was drawing more strength than her body had from the force, and it only made him more happy, and even eager to see her unleashed.

She out of nowhere ducked down and attempted to swipe the saber across his knees and forced him to back flip away from her. He landed about two feet away but found himself immediately having to bring his saber in front of himself as she ran at him with saber lazily at her side being dragged across the floor. She brought up in a long arch and then with raw anger backed strength immediately slammed it back down and forced him to block again.

She was wild, feral even in this moment. Viathan actually found himself getting surprised by her strikes, and move. She was by far no master in dueling but her pure rage was making her erratic and hard to follow. She flung herself back away from him and then quickly leapt back at him with a downward strike. She didn't notice just how high she jumped just now. Viathans eyes went wide as he rolled away from her strike and she ended up hitting the floor.

With the force, Viathan sent a strong wave of energy at her and sent her backwards and threw her roughly onto her back with a nasty sounding thud.

He slowly approached her and pointed his saber at her downed for. She just laid there for a moment not paying him any attention. She was staring to the ceiling and breathing heavily from all the stress she had just put upon her body.

"I do believe; my dear princess, that you have walked the very first steps of attaining true power in the force." Viathan said as he eased himself and began twirling his in saber nonchalantly about for no real reason. She finally looked at him with no a "far away" expression before pushing herself up off her back and into a sitting position and sighed deeply.

"I don't know what came over me." She announced as she deactivated her saber still in her hand, and looked downward at the floor. "On moment it was all fine. It was all clear, and I was attacking you, but not really attacking you to hurt you. I mean I didn't really mean to attack you" She said in self confusion. "Then I couldn't hit you, and then you started I guess goading me. Then I just got more and more frustrated." Her brow furrowed as she explained it all to him. She looked up at him, with a confused look still planted on her face. "Was that what was supposed to happen?"

Viathan gave a single confirming nod. "Indeed it was." She nodded slowly in response before he continued.

"The power I felt within you in our very first meeting was channeled through your anger at me in that moment when we were, I guess you could say arguing." Viathan pointed out as he deactivated his saber now.

"I learned long ago, as did my master, and my original master as well. That raw emotions are the trigger for your power to be set free. Your true unbridled power. Not the menial power provided by the quote, unquote light side of the force. As the Jedi of the olden order would have wanted you to believe." He said making quote signs with his fingers in the air. "Instead we all attain our power through what we call the dark side of the force. Yes, I know it sounds like something from a children's holobook and obviously evil. However, it is not evil my princess." He declared holding out a hand to her. Which she grabbed and let him help pull her to her feet.

"Instead it is simply a means for a being powerful in the force to free themselves of any and all constraints and chains that other would put upon you. To be able to protect yourself and those you desire to protect without the pacifistic and none caring codes of the old Jedi Order in your way. It is freedom to do with the your power what you please. The force is a tool, and has lead many people to greatness and power." He declared as she stood intently listening to him.

"What you felt was but the raw awakening of your dormant powers. You are far more powerful in the force than that little display of feral rage, milady. Now all you need is practice and training to be able to channel that rage, that anger, and your fears into a power that will ultimately lead you to do as you wish when you please!" He further declared with a balled fist to get his point across.

She still looked unsure. To Viathan she seemed even slightly fearful of whatever power she had felt in her moment of uncontrolled anger. _'She did not have the trainers I had. They would have wanted her to unleash this power long ago. My mast…I mean Palpatine would have forced her to unleash this kind of power long ago. Or she would have suffered. Like I suffered…' _The Sith in training let his thoughts stray for a moment.

"So what you're telling me. Is that I can learn to control the force within me. Do with it as I wish, and that no one can tell me otherwise?" Inquisitively she asked him with a raised brow. He shook himself from his memories and tilted his head to a side and lifted his hand in an unsure manner.

"Well…you see that is the problem that not only you, but I and my master face." She crossed her arms in return with an annoyed look upon her face once again, and he shook his hands in front of himself quickly. "No, no I don't mean that I was lying to you. It's just that there is one man that seeks to control all life in the galaxy, and that includes us force sensitive's. For you see he is one himself. I'm sure you know of whom I'm talking about as well." She rolled her eyes and looked to her side in scorn.

"The Emperor." Viathan nodded with a smile.

"Exactly, my dear princess. He has for far too long tried to bend all the galaxy and those under him to his unbearable and nonsensical at times, will. He has almost an entire army of dark side adepts under his wing and is using them to root out and kill all his more powerful enemies." She cast him a sideways look.

"And you and your master are not?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"What my master seeks to do is revive the Sith Order to its former golden age of prosperity, and whatever you may have heard or read about the Sith I can assure you it is not as bad as you may believe. I will also bet you heard it from your father. Who; as of now we and everyone else in the galaxy knows, serves a Sith lord himself. "Viathan pointed out and she immediately sighed as anger shot through her very core again.

"The Emperor thinks himself a follower of the 'Order of the Sith Lords.' A code of the Sith that dictates there is to be but one Sith master and but one Sith apprentice. He claims to be the master, and lord Vader to be his apprentice. Yet he allows my master free reign and has hundred of force users at his beck and call. As powerful and fruitful as this code has been for the Sith Order in generations past it is now null and void because of the Emperor. Who I would challenge anyone that he rid himself of such numerical restrictions a long time ago, and instead ensured all force users under him were far too weak to ever challenge him head on. That includes lord Vader himself." He added and she seemed particularly intrigued by that.

"There is no room for growth within the Sith. No ability for the order to span outwards to rule the galaxy and bring at least a semblance of order to it."

She sighed with her arms still crossed. "You already know I don't agree with the Empire." She reminded him, but Viathan interestingly enough felt her spirit waning through the force. Her enthusiasm for such talk slowly be eaten away the more she was reminded of her fathers actions.

"Why milady? Because your 'loyal son of the Empire father' told you it was wrong? He lied to you all your life, and made you believe in something that he didn't even believe in himself! He gave you no warning, no power, and refused to ever let you help him. He knew you wouldn't agree with him so what did he do? He made sure you had no chance at power whatsoever, and he would have controlled you through nothing but sheer lies!" Viathan declared with anger creeping into his voice as he tried hammering the point further.

"Well now you have the chance at power Leia!" He declared saying her name in an out of character manner for himself. "You no longer need to listen to him or anyone like him! You have power that only force users can ever compete against! You can decide your own fate, your own future, it need not be the one he lied to you about. It will be the one that you wish to carve out for yourself, and this time as an apprentice in the ways of the force all the resources and power of the Empire will be laid out for you to use and dispose of as you wish and so please. You don't need to fight the Empire to change it princess. All you need to do is remove those who corrupt it from power, and then make the galaxy into your image!" He laid a hand on one of her shoulders which made her look dead at him.

"The Empire is what you make it my dear princess Leia Organa. You can either fight and kill millions in order to topple it, and destabilize it to fit your will, and more than likely fight decades just to keep it that way. Or you can aid me, and my master in ridding this galaxy of the Emperor and his influence entirely!" Her mouth slightly opened with shock at his declarative offer.

"I tell you that I and my master seek to destroy the Emperor for the benefit of all the galaxy and the Empire. Now I tell you a most guarded of secrets in hopes that you will aid us, and allow yourself to be trained in the ways of the force, in the ways of the dark side. So that you can and will one day change the galaxy for the better, and hopefully forever." Viathan finally finished his long winded speech and looked into her eyes attempting to gauge this young girls emotions.

She ran a small hand of hers over her hair, and across her neck in a tired fashion. She looked downwards which deeply worried Viathan. _'What if she were to say no you idiot! She will tell someone eventually and then what will you do?!' _He chastised himself again for possibly the fourth time today. However, she looked up at him and with a small smile upon her young face.

"Alright I'll do it."

To that Viathan smiled. "You have just made this day one of the best in my life, milady!" He declared happily. To which she slightly giggled.

"On one condition my dear Viathan." She declared and he shot her a perplexed and even slightly worried look. "Yes, milady?"

She smirked. "Stop calling me milady. I want you to call me Leia. And just Leia." To that Viathan bowed his head to her.

"Very well my dear, Leia." He said and then chuckled, for in this moment Viathan felt happy.

It was an emotion he rarely knew, and perhaps would rarely ever know.

* * *

Phew here is a long Viathan and Leia chapter for you guys. These two are obviously very important to the story and I thought it only right to finally have a true understanding made between the both of them. Let us see what paths this leads our beloved Leia down eh? Read and review please! Thanks for reading again! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(Dubrava, Several Hours Earlier)

Durbok had led her through quite a bit of marshlands and swamps before they finally reached their current destination. Kellia had been pleasantly surprised when the native Dubravan had been proven to be telling the truth. As they entered a clearing and her eyes were met with the sight of many shabbily set up tents with men and women of all kinds were huddled around them and several random bonfires.

Kellia felt saddened though as she felt the pain, anger, and sadness that overwhelmed the majority of them. They all looked to be suffering a horror of some kind. Whether it be physical of psychological in nature; either way they all were suffering because of the Imperial attack.

"Alright little Durbok, it seems you've earned the right to not be split in half by my lightsaber today." Kellia said to the native alien man as he cast her a look of fear mixed with trepidation.

"Right. So, why does it sound like you ain't done with me yet?" She smirked to him in turn.

"You're quite perceptive my alien friend. I need you to help me with one last task and then I'll let you be on your way." She responded with her smirk still remaining. He in turn sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in clear anxiety.

"Alright, I guess. What do you want me to do exactly?" She gave a small chuckle in return and crossed her arms nonchalantly. "I want to know who gathered the survivors here, and where he, or she is. I would very much like to have a word with this person who sent you to rob the dead of their possessions." To that he audibly groaned.

"I told ya, that he wanted all the weapons and ammo for the rest of the survivors! Y'know the people who ain't dead yet!" He responded with but a sliver of anger passing his fear. Kellia though was not impressed and waved him off.

"Yes, yes I'm well aware of that my dear Durbok. However, the request still remains. Who is in charge and where is he?" She retorted without any emotion. Durbok sighed again as he grew more and more tired of being with this rather direct, and indeed mean Jedi.

"He calls himself Forsho, or something like that. Leads some group called United Peoples Against Imperial Terror, or some nonsense like that."

Durboks last sentence fell on deaf ears however as Kellia went into her own thoughts.

'_Kriffing hell! That son of a Kath hound Forsho was actually invited by Organa?! That should have been a warning sign right there!' _Kellia thought as she remembered all she knew of the infamous Forsho. At least he was infamous amongst the rebel circles and gossipers.

How his UPAIT "group" was responsible for many terror attacks themselves, including a rather nasty bit of work on Denon in the Inner Rim some years back. To Kellias recollection, it involved an Imperial outpost that was placed in near a densely populated residential sector of the city world. UPAIT apparently did not factor in collateral on the side of civilians and cost "only" around thirteen-thousand deaths in a massive domino effect of spire collapse.

'_Kriffing cowards. I have half a mind to kill that slime Forsho myself and do myself, and even the damnable Empire a big favor.' _She thought venomously as she finally shook herself from her thoughts and realized Durbok was standing in front of her looking anxious. "Indeed, I know of the man. He is a foul piece of waste on the bottom of my boot, but sadly he's your leader." She retorted to which Durbok shrugged.

"Hey I didn't say he was real clean or nothing. I just met the guy like; what, two and a half hours ago! If he's a stain on the galaxy he's your stain not mine." The Dubravan declared with a wave of his hands. Kellia slightly chuckled in response. "That he is my dear Durbok. Now do me a favor and point his tent out to me so I may…deal with him." It wasn't really a request more so than it was a very strongly implied command. To which the alien quickly pointed to a tent off in the far left end of the encampment in the distance.

Kellia nodded her thanks and let her short time companion be on his way. Kellia almost laughed at the relief that crossed the Dubravans face as he scurried as far away from her as he could get. She paid him little mind however and made quickly for the tent pointed out to her.

She made her strides long and quick as she passed through rows of brown and green camouflaged, tents that hardly seemed decent enough to sit in let alone sleep in and recover from wounds. Mossy trees were all above her and the camp and blocked the encampment from view from the skies above, and any prying eyes. Swamps surrounded the entire area, and tall grass was further off in the distance. Making the trek to the camp arduous and Kellia thought it a rather good spot to hide from any Imperial mop up crews that the Empire may have sent down earlier.

As she closed in on the tent she began to sense eyes begin following her in trepidation and intrigue, but no one actually stood to get in her way or talk to her, and she was soon entering the tent where Forsho awaited.

"So, I think that we are all in agreement here." Came the voice of a man standing in the middle of the tent, as he spoke to a circle of fellow men gathered close and intently listening to him. He had short and spiky black hair, deep brown and dark eyes, as well as an athletic build, but really he was nothing special. His voice however was one of oil, and ambition. It practically leaked off of him in waves, and Kellia sneered immediately. _'Well I think I found Forsho.' _She thought to herself as Forsho continued on babbling.

"With this disgrace of an attack committed by the Empire just a few hours ago upon us. I; as the last surviving leader of all the gathered rebel cells, believe that it is only right that I take command of a united effort for all of our sakes. Bail Organa has indeed betrayed us all my brothers! So I say that we really take the fight to the Empire now! That we teach them the meaning of pain, and that we seize every Imperial world in the grips of terror, and fear. Teach them the cost of accepting Imperial rule! Let them now we are not broken. Instead we are now more united than ever before!"

Forsho declared with balled fists held high into the air, and was met with some nodding heads and whispers of the gathered men in agreement and approval with him. Kellia could only roll her eyes in response. _'Let us end this ridiculous display.' _She declared to herself and stepped forward still cloaked in her dark robe.

"I do believe Forsho that you are an idiot if I've ever seen one." She boldly declared and caused every gathered head to turn in shock, and Forsho immediately sneered with anger at her. "You say we should all bow to your whim and…what? Terrorize people, kill people, slaughter, genocide maybe? What's next dealing spice for a quick profit?" She accused him without a hint of fear, as she closed the distance between them.

"Who are you to challenge and belittle me?! Were you a leading member of any of the gathered rebel cells her upon Dubrava? Were you there when we were being slaughtered by the Imperial fleet above the world in orbit and we could do nothing to stop it?!" Kellia stood silent for a moment and simply laughed. Much to his and the other men's shock.

"You truly think you're intimidating don't you Forsho? I do not fear you or your pathetic group of gangsters pretending to be some kind of heroic band of outcasts." She declared and crossed her arms in utter defiance of him and his authority.

"Bah! You didn't even try answering me. You obviously have no idea how to lead, and no right to even talk amongst us. Why am I even talking to an idiot like you? GUARDS!" Forsho commanded and came forth two rebel soldiers dressed in green camouflage gear with backpacks and blaster carbines in their hands. They came to a stand behind her and expected her to merely follow them outside. When she did not respond at all one of them reached out to grasp her arm. In a fraction of a second she twirled around and with saber hilt in hand, activated her cerulean blade and held it right to the bold soldiers neck. He in turn froze and fear gripped his eyes. As every other person in that room jumped from their seats and backed away from her.

"Touch me, and you die." She said in a low and almost guttural tone. With hardened eyes that bore into the soldiers Kellia allowed him to slowly back away with hands held at his sides in fear and surrender. "I could cut all in here down with but a stroke of my saber and maybe a bit of twirling." She declared with pride as she circled the room with her saber. All the men in turn held their hands out in an attempt to seem harmless.

To that she smiled. "Good. It seems like I now have everyone's full attention." She declared and refocused her attention upon Forsho who too looked utterly shocked.

"You…you're a Jedi? Well why didn't you say so in the first place? We could use someone like you for our little group!" Forsho declared as if he were still in command of the tent. Kellia, however, huffed in disgust.

"Use me? No, no Forsho you will not be 'using' me for anything. I have been the slave of many masters throughout my life, but I refuse to lower my standards to someone like, well like you. You little 'Grain Maggot.'" She openly insulted him, and he turned red with anger but said not another word as her saber was still brightly and plainly obvious in her hand.

"Kellia? Kellia Nelrain, is that you?" Came a voice Kellia knew she had hear before. Turning to see who it came from she slightly smiled, but also sighed. _'Oh terrific.'_ She thought as none other than the loud, obnoxious Corellian himself Dase Vorum made his way towards her. A massive sideways smirk upon his face. "Man…I thought you had gotten killed by them three badies back on Nar Shaddaa woman!" He laughingly declared as he closed the distance between them and merrily placed a hand on one of her shoulders. To which she merely glared at it before addressing the Corellian directly.

"Yes well, there were complications attaining a new ship after I…after I dealt with the problematic Inquisitors." She informed him in a distant manner. After all, the images of clutching a mans throat entered her mind, and it made her grimace at the memory.

"Ah okay I get ya." He responded still in a joyous manner. "We could've used your help earlier. You missed one hell of a party! Y'know if death and fire is your version of a good party. I rather prefer some Corellian ale at my parties" He declared in his cocky, and at times very irritating Corellian manner. Kellia again found herself rolling her eyes, and pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"I'm sure I could've done allot against Imperial stardestroyers, Vorum." She declared to which he merely shrugged.

"This is all one big happy sweet reunion I must say. So forgive me for interrupting, but there is more pressing matters at hand, Jedi." Forsho butted in with a snarl in his voice. To which both Kellia and Dase looked at him in common annoyance of the man.

"Yes you're right there are more pressing issues needing taking care of." She responded and turned to all the other men who had remained quiet throughout all the chatter.

"You see I came here to join in the gathering that all of you so desperately wished had happened long ago. I came here because we all believed in the lies of one man. Bail Organa." She venomously spat the name and many men nodded slowly in agreement.

"I know of the pain you all feel. I know because I can feel it coming off of you all. All of you believe that the time had finally come, when Bail Organa would forsake his petty game of pretending to be an Imperial. That he would rise up and lead us all to victory against the Empire. That we would finally destroy this Empire of inequity!" She declared with rising venom in her gruff female voice. Many of the men nodded and were obviously into what she was saying. As Dase nodded along himself.

"Only we didn't get our wish did we?" They all looked down in shame, and anger. "Instead the man you all believed to be our saving saint has shown himself to be a monster in the clothing of a saint! He has betrayed us all, and now what do we do?" She asked in a rhetorical manner.

She didn't give them time to possibly answer her. "We do not simply lay down and fade into the abyss of history. We do not surrender and we should not waver in our conviction for the demise of this dictatorship!" She declared with a passionate fire that not even she knew she held. "Yet what do I come here to find? Weak and scared soldiers begging a thug and two bit terrorist to lead them forward! Forsho is nothing but an incompetent fool seeking glory for himself and you all are willing to simply bend to his will? Would that be what your old leaders, your old and now dead comrades would want?!" She demanded of them and they all seemed to begin thinking it over while more zealous ones began cheering her on already. Some looked even ashamed.

Forsho sneered himself. "Oh I see what this is. You want to merely waltz in here and just, what? Take over Jedi? Sorry but you cant do that. You have no credibility, nothing for us to really fall back on. In fact I've never even heard of you until today! How do we know you aren't just some damn Imperial spy sent by the Emperor himself huh?" Kellia opened her mouth to silence him but Dase beat her to it.

"Hey Forsho, will you do the galaxy a favor, and just shut your kriffing mouth before I punch your jaw in! I worked with this Jedi for in all honesty a short amount of time, but I'll tell ya this much. She's one hell of a rebel straight to the bone man! So yeah, shut it!" Dase threatened him before sending a reassuring smile to Kellia. For once she didn't feel like choking the Corellian, and in return nodded her thanks.

"As I was trying to say. I do not come here to try and take any power for myself or lead anyone, but to ensure that you all don't make the mistake of listening to this bottom feeding maggot of a man! Do not fall for his lies, and deceit. We are rebels against the Galactic Empire we are morally superior on all levels, and I refuse to let you all succumb to mindless terrorism so that this man may exploit us and our passions for self benefit." She said as she lowed her hood and tried to convey sincerity to them all.

"Who will join me in saying no to this fool of a man? Who will stay true to the rebel way and not become a petty terrorist?!" Kellia asked of them all, and where there was once fear for her all she could now sense was approval, and even adoration. She had not meant to be as inspiring as she was, but if it stopped Forsho in his tracks then it was indeed for the better.

"Kriffing morons! Do you not see that this Jedi is already dividing us!? She seeks to rip our unity because she is the one with the hidden agenda here, and a plan, and a will to dominate us all! She is the deceiver! She is the…." Forsho did not finish his insults as in flash he felt an incredible shooting pain in his abdomen, and looking down all he could see was blue. A blue beam of light had gone clean through him, and at the end of it was Kellia. She did not look satisfied. In fact she looked cold, and serious as her dark eyes bore into his. She sneered at the man that now choked out his last breath, and Kellia unceremoniously kicked his body off of her saber. Forsho was dead, and all was similarly deadly quiet in the tent as fear took hold once again.

Sensing the fear Kellia allowed her saber to vanish and she re-clipped it to her belt. "I do not expect many of you to understand why I did this." She intoned after another moment of silence. Dase for one was looking at her with a furrowed brow, and seemed utterly perplexed by what she just did. "I was once a Jedi knight of the Order. I was taught to never kill an enemy who was unarmed, but what my order did not realize was that some use their mere voice as a weapon to seduce and break another. Forsho, would have gone on to terrorize, kill, and reap the rewards that such things bring you. All the while pretending to be a rebel commander, and gathering those with true fire, and true conviction to his group, and limit their ability to actually help the galaxy."

She said as she turned to them and for once allowed her eyes to soften and look almost pleading. "I killed Forsho because that man was a monster. No better than Palpatine himself, and I refused to let him continue rot the galaxy as he did." She declared and held her hands out at her sides. "If all of you wish for me to be punished for what I've done then you may arrest me here, and now, or even kill me if you will. I do not repent for my actions. I will only die knowing I at least did what good thing for the galaxy. What have any of you done to help the galaxy today?" She asked them and they all seemed to ponder over her speech.

"Lady, I think you're nuts." Came Dase'es voice. "But, I gotta admit you kinda have a point. I mean the guy was a real slime ball." Dase said as he looked over the corpse. "Cant say I'd just outright kill they guy, but like I said I understand why you did what you did." He said and allowed his smile to return.

Many of the others agreed and nodded their own approval. Some took a bit longer to mull it over, but most agreed in the end, and those who didn't agree with the method of the sudden murder had to admit Forsho was a monster. So why weep for a dirt bag like him?

"I thank you all for your understanding." Kellia finally said and lowered her arms. "I know you all have much to think over and talk over now, and I'll leave you all to do that." She said and began to merely walk away.

"Err, Kellia?" Came a voice of a random rebel in the tent. "I don't know about everyone else here, but I kinda like the idea of a Jedi leading the charge." He declared, and much to Kellias surprise everyone else there seemed to agree with him. Dase included, as his big cocky grin returned to his face.

"I'm no leader of armies, and governments. I am but an ex-Jedi seeking the end of a dictatorship responsible for the death of all I knew." She retorted quietly as the memory hit her hard in this moment.

"Give it up Nelrain. It's obvious you got the ability to fire us up. You got conviction, and well you got just the stuff needed right now." Dase said in a matter-of-fact tone. "the question is, will you give us that boot in the backside that we all need, and lead us against the Empire? Or do you seriously wanna sit on the sidelines forever?" He asked and Kellia stood frozen for a moment.

'_Lead the rebels? Fight the Empire in a united front for the first time? Bring the fight to Palpatine on your own terms? Destroy him, and his Empire, and kill all his little cronies?!' _She thought as ice ran through her blood in that moment. Kellia knew she could not refuse the chance to bring the fight to the old man. To finally make that kriffing worm pay for all he's done! No, she had to do it! She had to take the fight to him, and make him pay the ultimate price.

By her hands.

She looked at Dase. "We need to get even more groups on the team Vorum." She declared and he grinned wildly. "Don't worry, I know some people that are itching to bring the fight to the old geezer." He laughed and every single person there erupted into a cheer. For despite the Empires attack. Despite Bails betrayal.

The rebels had been united. Under a Jedi with a will to kill, and ability to do so with utter ease.

(Bestine System, Bestine)

Camderan Wellik stood proudly upon his tower command deck with hands clasped ever so Imperially properly behind his back. His men were all sitting in their sterile grey chairs and tinkering with computer consoles that lined the tower with an eye catching assortment of blue, yellow, red, and even green buttons of all manner and uses. "Commander Wellik sir. TIE squadron 1-2-1, is reporting an all clear in sector four." Came the voice of one of his efficient officers who diligently sifted through all incoming and outgoing communications of Bestine.

"Excellent. Order them to complete their patrol of sector five and then order a return to hangers." Camderan ordered as he paced along the width of the room and looked over all his officers as they worked without a pause. "Aye sir." Came the confirmation form his officer as he began transmitting to the squadron lead. Wellik nodded and smiled as he walked along the entire line of officers. Then the same officer shouted a report.

"Commander Wellik sir! Emergency communication from squadron 1-2-8, they report an unidentified stardestroyer has entered the system!" He reported without a breath. Wellik frowning, made for his station on a standing podium overlooking all the com officers.

"Patch it through at once officer." He commanded and received an "aye" in confirmation.

"This is squadron lead flight trooper 5-6-7, of TIE squad 1-2-8 reporting in sir!" Came the muffled but understandable voice of the imperial flight trooper.

"This is Commander, Camderan Wellik, of com tower control speaking. We understand that an unidentified stardestroyer has entered Bestine space. Is that what you are reporting pilot? Please clarify."

"Yes sir commander, sir. They are not retuning all hail attempts to facilitate communication." Wellik nodded in return.

"Understood pilot. Hold your squads current position, and await further orders." Wellik received the confirmation and muted his end of that transmission.

"Officer Roland, send hail request on all Imperial channels and attempt contact at once." The officer by the last name of Roland gave his aye, and immediately sent out the hail transmission. It took a few seconds but then…

"Commander Wellik, sir, they are responding to our hail. Patching them through at once." Roland said and Wellik turned to one of his several video screens, as the face of another imperial officer materialized in full color and motion in a clear transmission.

"This is Commander Camderan Wellik of Bestine com tower control speaking. Please identify yourself at once, and state your business here in Bestine space." Wellik commanded as he placed both hands behind his back and held his head high in a commanding manner.

"I am Grand Moff Nox Vellam, of the Imperial Stardestroyer 'Conquest.'" Said the slightly older man on the screen who stood in the full uniform proper of an Imperial Moff. However, Wellik frowned and his brow line scrunched in confusion.

"Forgive me sir, but surely you know that orders have been sent out to all sectors of the Empire that the title, and office of Moff is null and void of all authority and command. I am going to have to ask you to power down all your vessels nonessential systems, and prepare for a boarding party to make an inspection of your ship." Wellik said only to see this Grand Moff Vellam chuckle and then give a sigh that did not seem one of annoyance or depression, but rather one of mirth.

"I am afraid I cannot do that Commander Wellik. I am here to take command of Bestine, and relieve you and all imperial staff of your posts at once. This is not a request."

Wellik shifted uncomfortably where he stood as a knot in his gut began to form. While he could see all his officers turning and watching with sweat and anticipation obvious upon their collective faces.

"I cannot allow you to do that, Moff. By order of the Galactic Empire under jurisdiction of the 'Power Limitations and State Security Act,' you are to stand down immediately or face immediate retribution." Wellik warned and then turned to another officer.

"Officer Teeris, contact the 'Bane,' and the 'Resolution,' from Bestine system defense command at once!" The officer by the name of Teeris was sweating like a waterfall but immediately sent out an emergency request to the Bestine systems defense forces. In a matter of seconds two stardestroyers entered from hyperspace and right in front of the Conquest.

"This is captain Ristid of the Imperial Stardestroyer Bane responding to emergency hail from Bestine com tower control. I am in command of Bestine system defense command. You are hereby ordered to back down at once, and allow us to board your vessel. Or you shall face the full wrath of the Galactic Empire." All were quiet as the com officers planet side; including Wellik, stood sweating and feeling the heart pounding adrenaline pump through all of them.

"I am afraid I cannot do that captain." Vellam responded without a hint of fear in his voice. "Is this really how this has to end?" The Moff strangely asked, and all Imperials seemed confused on the stardestroyers and planet side for a moment.

Captain Ristid was the one to respond with pride and assurance in his voice. "This is how it has to be." He declared. "Captain Ristid out." The captain thus suddenly cut his transmission.

"So be it." Vellam said and his transmission also faded, and Wellik stood in stunned silence. Until something quite unexpected happened next.

"Commander Wellik! Incoming fleet out of hyperspace!" Yelled Rolland without any propriety of an Imperial officer. "The fleet numbers over one hundred Imperial warships!" He yelled. To which Wellik found himself unable to respond.

"This is squadron lead 5-6-7, I have dozens of Imperial class starships firing on the Bane and Resolution! Require immediate assistance, and orders!" Came the obviously shocked and scared pilot. Over the transmission the com officers heard nothing but imperial pilots begin barking at one another in confusion and fear, and Wellik found himself walking to the tower observation viewport.

As he looked toward the skies all he saw were Stardestroyers, Tartan-class patrol cruisers, Victory II Class warships, and broadside class corvettes. They all flew forward and he saw two stardestroyers get slammed with every once of firepower by the unfriendly Imperial fleet. "What is happening for forces sake!?" Wellik demanded of no one, as all his officers began to get overloaded with transmissions.

"This is the Imperial Stardestroyer Bane! Bestine com tower command you are ordered to send immediate emergency transmission to Imperial Sector Defense forces! Transmit immediate assistance protocol initiations!" The voice of the Banes coms officer yelled out before a massive boom was heard and shook the entire tower as the Bane blew apart in the orbit of Bestine.

"Quiet that chatter at once officers!" Wellik commanded with a sudden adrenaline rush forcing him out of his stunned stupor. The officers began the horrid task of cutting off all the random yelling and chaos that was flooding the coms systems.

"Officer Teeris, contact Bestine system defense forces at once and transmit the emergency request! Officer Roland, contact sector security and defense forces and initiate all emergency reinforcement request protocols! Officer Geron, contact Inner Rim Security command and relay the entire transmission between the Conquest, us, and the Bane! Order it to be resent to Imperial Center and request immediate support from the capital!" Wellik commanded to three of his officers while running about the tower and overlooking their hurried work.

"Officer Irike," Wellik suddenly barked to and the young officer jumped in his seat. "Yes sir?!" He responded as another explosion reverberated from orbit as everyone assumed it was the Resolution being ripped asunder.

"Officer Irike initiate all defense protocols and send out the commands to all planet side Imperial forces at once! Contact general Ferroun, and get him up to speed!" He commanded and the man went to work.

"Sir Imperial fleet coming out of hyperspace! It is the 467th Imperial Defense Fleet!" Called out officer Roland who seemed slightly relieved but still scared out of his mind. "Sir Imperial dropships have entered our atmosphere! They are coming from the enemy fleet!"

"Sir! Admiral Yintti of the 467th is engaging the enemy fleet with three dozen warships and all communications have been routed from channel to channel! Imperial Center shall be informed in several moments, or at the most hours!" Wellik nodded his understanding as the thought of the capital not receiving the emergency transmission for hours horrified him.

He could not waste anytime however. For war had come to Bestine in the form of not rebels, but Imperial warships and a Grand Moff. Little did he know war had just come to all the galaxy.

* * *

Haha it has begun my friends! Please let me know what you think, and thanks again for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(Coruscant, Imperial palace)

The summons had come suddenly, and caught Kun in a mild bit of surprise if he were to be fully honest. A transmission had suddenly blared in on his rooms com-station, and he answered what was unexpectedly nothing more than a transmission of nothing but text. It was from Palpatines office and demanded his presence at once, and to arrive at selected coordinates provided in the message.

Said coordinates, directed him to a room that Kun had never been to before but it was actually several levels closer and thus higher up towards the throne room than his high level quarters were. Exar had never been there before, but was more than sure with himself that he knew what the room was. _'A war room.' _

Kun thought as he made quick and assured strides along the winding corridors and halls of the Imperial palace. He had ascended to the correct level of the palace as dictated to him earlier, and was now nearing his ultimate destination. Along the way; and the closer he got, Exar suddenly found himself passing dozens of Imperial staff workers, and militarily uniformed Imperials with Stormtrooper and Imperial red clothed guards lining and patrolling the halls, either hurriedly moving from room to room, and from hall to hall. Or standing and mingling amongst one another speaking in hushed tones of uncertainty and obvious fear laced upon their collective faces.

The dark lord passed admirals having heated debates with captains, and officers ranking from corporal to general having stiff conversations on a variety of things. But the dark lord could sense one thing assuredly. Hardly any of them knew what was going on to force the general call from the Emperor and the Executive office of the Empire, and they were all scared to the point of physical trembling.

He finally arrived before a normal looking grey sliding door surrounded by red guards on either side. He merely approached and they stiffened in respect before allowing him to pass though without delay. Obviously their master had dictated thus to them, and Kun found himself in a room loud with mingling voices and bumbling men. The room was lined with massive and eye-catching computer consoles, and monitor displays of various fleets, armies, and populace centers in their views. In the center of the room was a massive circular grey table with a massive amounts of bolted to the floor, swiveling, and similarly colored grey chairs awaiting people to sit in them. Planted in the center of that table; the obvious projection device, normal of a war planning and assessment room.

With a hidden but wide grin upon his face, _'Ah the day is upon us! The hour is here, and I feel just great! What a way to start an evening!' _With that he moved forward, further into the room.

The target of his ultimate intentions lay directly before him. The old decrepit man sit lazily in the central and largest back chair of the massive 'round' table, both his bony hands sliding nonchalantly along the arm rests of the chair. A snarl firmly planted upon his fleshy features as the dark side bristled around him in cold, venomous contemplation and rising rage. Were the man even worth a modicum of respect to Kun, he may have respected this dark power radiating off of him, but found himself unable to come to terms with this disgusting man before him.

"Greetings your highness. May I ask what this little, uh, gathering is about?" Kun asked.

"Well, Lord Kun," he slowly intoned his fellow Sith's name. "It would seem that a recent development on the world known as Bestine, or Bestine IV has caused much confusion and apparently fear amongst the ranks of the men under me." Sidious allowed his glowing yellow eyes to slowly trace the room. "Worthless, leaching bunch of worms that they all are." He added after scrutinizing them for a moment longer.

"I called you here Kun so that you may perhaps once again prove your ability and worth to me and the Galactic Empire." The Emperor revealed and sat up in his chair placing his now folded and intertwined hands on the round table. "Now all of you!" He bellowed, catching everyone's attention easily and turning the room deadly quiet. "I want everyone of rank and of importance to take your seats now. We have much to…discuss." The cloaked man declared and soon many men of proper rank and dress were taking seats along the length of the very wide and long dull grey table.

"Director Isard, report at once on all relevant and important data, and do NOT hold the smallest of details back from me this time!" Sidious demanded the red suit wearing, and obviously scared man, as Kun, himself, took his own seat that was spaced quite a few well needed inches away from Palpatine.

"As you will, your majesty." Armand slipped a data chip into the console port at his seat, and keyed in a pass code on his terminal. In a matter of a few seconds the image of a slightly older man, with short looking hair, and no real air of power about him even with his hands clasped behind his back, materialized into a holoimage before the gathered men. "This is Grand Moff Nox Vellam of the _Bright Jewel Oversector_. He is also referred to on occasion as a Governor-General, and has recently been up to rather interesting activities that Imperial Intelligence only now realizes the true gravity and implications of." Armand declared sheepishly before taking in a steadying breath after no words interrupted him.

"Nox Vellam has sent us this holo message not even two hours ago." Armand keyed something in to his console again and soon a holo recording began playing with Nox Vellam front and center with hands clasped behind him, and chin held high in defiance.

"I am Grand Moff Nox Vellam representing the Moff Alliance." He declared immediately and tersely. "Due to the deteriorating situation within the once glorious Galactic Empire as of late. With assassinations, counter-assassinations, and political maneuvering to remove the Moffs from the power rightfully owed to them, we Moffs of the Alliance hereby demand an immediate recall of the crudely declared, Power Limitations and State Security Act, at once!" He demanded with a sharp rise then fall in his voice.

"For long have we Moffs worked to ensure your total control over this mass mess of systems you call the galaxy, your majesty, and for too long have you abused our loyalty, and hard work with nothing but belittlement and death. For too long you have killed, assassinated, and tossed us aside for no other reason, but your own arrogance, vanity, and self serving pride on occasion." Kun clasped his hands together on the table trying to listen to this mans '_obviously,_' prepared speech. All the while he was registering the growing rage of the Emperor next to him, and the snarls he involuntarily made from time to time.

"We see this final act of treachery of yours your highness, and we will not take it any longer! We will not be made to return to Coruscant," the man said Coruscant for a reason, and refused openly to call it Imperial Center. "So that we are to be beaten, ridiculed, and killed for no reason other than your paranoid delusions." Vellam paused as if he expected people to begin chatting here.

"However, we are willing to compromise in the name of the greater galactic picture, in the name of galactic peace." Kun raised his brow, but still said nothing. "If you were to reinstate our titles, ranks, pay grade, and powers, as well as heighten all Moff political statuses across the board then we would be more than willing to returning to living our peaceful lives as servants of the Empire, not he who sit upon the throne." Nox defiantly declared with chin still raised with great, but feigned pride. "As you may well know by now. I have personally lead but our first assault fleet to attack what is now an outlying system in your Empire called Bestine, or if you want to be technical, Bestine IV." He said arrogantly to the once mighty Galactic Emperor.

"Bestine; you will be indeed glad to know your majesty, is proving a hard nut to crack so to speak. I will destroy these defenders and one by one make my way deeper into the Inner Rim, the Colonies, the Core, and then the very Deep Core of the galaxy, and destroy you, milord Palpatine." He declared without a hint of fear in his stereotypically accented voice.

"I have already destroyed the 467th Defensive, and your next feints will be just as easily repelled as well. Refusal to meet the Moff Alliances' demands will result in your fall your majesty, and nothing; not your pet monster Vader, or your new upstart Kun can stop us. You have been given twenty-four hours to respond. War, or peace." The transmission cut, and all at the table made no moves and no sounds other than the rhythmic sounds of shallow, and low breathing. Kun did the same, but in his mind hidden away from the prying eyes of Palpatine he laughed in sheer joy. For Vellam played his part like a class A actor, and Vader would be most happy to know of his success.

"I demand to know how this Moff Alliance has gone unnoticed by Imperial Intelligence at once Isard!" The Emperor finally bellowed and slammed one of his bony fists into the table and shook it with an unnatural force for a man his age. All men; save for Kun, stiffened at once and Armand turned pale. He cleared his throat with a cough and adjusted himself.

"While I do take on my rightfully deserved share of responsibility in this most egregious of oversights. I must let it be known and recorded that I said it here that I firmly place much of the blame on the 'Imperial Security Bureau,' for their unwillingness to cooperate, and share information privy to our directives as has been their agenda to do since the insepti…"

"Absolutely outrageous! I refuse to sit here and listen to anymore of this drivel milord!" Cried Crueya Vandron, as he sat opposite of Armand, and to the direct left of Palpatine three seats away. "As the founder and Central Commander of the I.S.B, I will not allow you to defame me personally here in the presence of the Emperor himself!" He further cried coming to a stand and leaned himself angrily on the table as the age old rivalry of agencies came to a head.

"I will not allow you to dare call me or my institutions out for your own ministry's failings Isard! Clearly this was a matter for I.I to handle, and not the I.S.B, and had we actually came upon any credible information pertaining to Imperial security we would have informed you and your insignificant bureau! Not that it would matter, because Imperial Intelligence is as incompetent as it is flaccid!" He pounded the table beneath his fists as Armand mimicked Vandrons pose and bore stony eyes into him.

"Of course you would have Crueya, of course you would have." Armand mocked. Kun on the other hand used both of his hands folded together to hide a lopsided smirk upon his face.

"Or, the more likely story is that you did know of impending treachery from amongst the ranks of the Moff institution, and I don't know about any other of you men," Armand said waving his hand to all the other men gathered. "But I have a sneaking suspicion that you wanted this to happen purely to undermine and seize command of the Imperial intelligence Bureau!" He accused pointing a finger directly at Crueya who grew red hot in the face with rage.

"ENOUGH!" Palpatine bellowed, and again slammed his fist into his seats armrest sending a torrent of force energy through the whole room with a quake and knocked both arguing men back into their respective seats, and all the others sat stiffly back in fear. Kun merely shook his head. Silently approving the show of power by the old man.

"This petty, and pathetic arguing is not answering my questions! It is getting us nowhere nearer to understanding how such an organized resistance could be mounted against me! Against the Galactic Empire!" Sidious declared to the whole group of men. He turned to another man Exar noticed to be wearing a strange set of robes, and had an entire prosthetic eye from the '_looks_' of things. Kun smiled in silence as he listened on.

"High Inquisitor, Tremayne." The Sith emperor acknowledged in a lower more prickly voice of annoyance. "As acting liaison between myself and the Inquisitorius what is the word from your branch of the Empire's Intelligence? Have you at least monitored any unusual activities as of late?"

The man too leaned both hands onto the table and bowed his head ever so slightly. Allowing Exar to notice he also had a prosthetic arm as well.

"We had believed we had stumbled onto a massive rebellion against you milord. However, those initial reports were for the gathering at Dubrava, and we only; of course, just recently discovered that this was yours, lord Vader's and lord Kun's doing." The inquisitor responded with no hint of anger or pride but sheer will to do his duty.

"Other than the reports all bureaus received," he said eyeing the two earlier fighting men . "of Moff assassinations and ordained executions reaching our offices I'm afraid we received nothing hinting at the mentioning of a Moff rebellion. Let alone a; what did he call it? Moff Alliance? This is no rebellion, milord. This is full blown secession!" Tremayne declared but with a soft, and of course deadly to the point voice.

The dark lord nodded his silent agreement and finally laid his eyes upon the ever quiet Sith lord to his right.. "What do you think of this situation, lord Kun?" Exar tilted his head to the side nonchalantly.

"These Moffs are questioning absolute authority absolutely." He said in a very; at least he hoped it was, profound manner, and to his own surprise many military officers nodded their silent agreements. Kun was eager to get the military support required of his mission, but stayed the course.

"If you were to back down to them. Which I don't think was ever your intention your highness, but say you did. Then you will be seen as nothing other than an old man with no power whatsoever left in him." Exar declared and Sidious just watched him with weary eyes. As other Imperials gasped at the blunt words from Exar.

"However, if you were to finally face a full blown war not seen since the; I believe it's called, Clone Wars, then the galaxy and the Empire, and most importantly the people will remember why YOU are Emperor and no one else!" Kun declared with a fist held to drive the point home.

Many military officers seemed to agree and were eager to begin preparations for full war. No more half way wars and petty rebels to squash! A real war to show the galaxy their worth, and the worth of their mighty lords and Emperor! A fact Exar knew, and already exploited.

"Let us send forth a fleet to Bestine!" Kun declared coming to a halfway stand and leaning closely to the withered but potent dark lord. "Let's show these pathetic Moffs fools what a war against you will be like! Let this be the true dawning of the New Sith era! Claim your mantle as dark lord and ruler of all the galaxy, as well as all the force, and be done with these damnable ingrates in one fell swoop!" Exar loudly proclaimed as he know let his eyes fall upon all those present.

"Unleash all dark side adepts at your command! Stop pretending this "Rule of Two," applies to you anymore! Let us quash them and usher in the golden age of the galaxy entire!" Exar banged the table in excitement. As he watched and gauged the dark emperor before him. The hooded old man looked towards his assembled Admirals, and generals.

"What say the lot of you on this matter?" To that many looked at one another, and whispered amongst themselves.

"I approve this move your almighty lordship! As I'm sure all the Inquisitors shall!" Tremayne declared indeed with a voice of excitement, and bowed his head deeply in reverence.

"I second that notion on behave of all the officer Corps within the mighty Empire, milord!" Came the voice of Naval Admiralty Representative, Paccati Syn. The naval officers of all the Empire were being represented by this fool of a man as of this day, but his choice did have clout, and it would be much to the Emperors decision to know if his foolish, weakling followers were willing and committed.

"I would agree to anything that you will my lord, and you know Intelligence will do all commanded of us at a second…no matter the obstructions in our way." Armand declared all the while glaring down Crueya. "I.S.B and COMPNOR, will see to it that the Empire unleash upon Vellam and his moronic crew of Moffs a terror unseen in a decade!" Vandron then declared before casting Isard a smirk of pride and satisfaction.

Sate Pestage had been here all along but chose to be the quiet one, but now it was his turn to lay forth his opinion. "Yes your almighty highness! Let us unleash the full might of the Imperial Army, and Lord Vader! Lord Kun as well." He said nodding to the man in respect, Kun did the same. "It has for too long gone unused but to round-up common rabble. They itch and burn for true and glorious war!" Sate declared with a firm hand wave.

The dark lord moved his head from one end to the other of the table and looked every man over with a critical eye and scrutinized their very bodies then their thoughts and intentions. He chuckled inwardly, '_Such a burning desire for all out war. Even by those who saw the last.' _He thought looking over at Armand, but knew he was hardly scarred by the Clone Wars in any way. He thought then of Nox Vellam. Of every traitorous Moff that had once sworn allegiance to him, and now swore to try to force him to do for them!? Even kill he after all he did for they!? _'I who gave you power! I who gave you office and the ability to do as you will so long it did not conflict with me! It was I who created this Empire, and I will not be told how to rule it! Not by Vellam, and certainly not by a damnable Moff of any kind!' _The dark side almost screeched to the galaxy in praise. It almost relished and felt the exhilarating drum beat of war and death!

'_So be it.' _His nose turned to a crinkle as a snarl erupted from the elder dark lords nose and he gritted his teeth in dark anticipation.

"Prepare for war, all of you!" A cheer erupted thus forth hailing him once again as the great Emperor.

For war was thus this day, declared.

(Bestine System, Bestine)

Another volley of mass amounts of green energy loudly blasted forth from the twin mounted cannons of the Anti-Air turrets. In the distance anyone could make out dozens of similar cannons firing; seemingly blindly, towards the skies of Bestine above. Either hitting their targets and leaving a flaming TIE hurtling to the surface of Bestine, or simply exploding in midair hitting nothing at all.

Commander Wellik had been forced, along with the rest of his remaining officer force, leave the com control tower. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since this battle began, and the future was looking bleaker than ever before. Ground force were waning under the constant and relentless assault by Moff Vellams forces. The system, and sector naval forces were locked out of the system by Vellams own naval forces blockading the world and not allowing anyone to leave or enter without their expressed go ahead. The Imperial garrison on Bestine numbering ten-thousand had crumbled to but a single division of slightly less than five-thousand, battle able Stormtroopers and a further thirty-nine-thousand, drafted Bestine militia. _'Hardly the standard worthy of the Imperial moniker.' _Camderan thought as he looked at a group of one of the militias teenaged platoons getting ready to move out from the temporary Imperial headquarters.

Camderan had somehow been forced into a position of command among the imperial forces on Bestine after his rendezvous with general Ferroun and his advance force several hours earlier. Ferroun was now in the heat of battle in Barlata city. All the while Camderan was receiving a constant stream of reports from ground forces and advance scouts that both Gasha and Jahnae cities had been turned into slag from orbital bombardment runs, and that Vellams forces had no doubt destroyed the menial oceanic shipyards of the world several hours ago as well.

"Damn it all!" Camderan slammed his hand on the holographic battlefield table before him. He caught the attention of many fellow officers who were stunned by their commanding officer's loss of demeanor and control, but none could really blame him for it either. Wellik did not care in turn as well. The situation was deteriorating and he was in command of forces and power he had never known before or even ever wanted!

"Status report on general Ferrous's current position now!" He demanded and the officer he yelled to went to running his fingers along a computer terminal with great and sudden speed.

"Last report sent in two hours ago, was that Moff Vellams ground forces were advancing on Barlata city capital square." The officer breathily reported. "Furthermore, he reported that he had authorized a 'tactical' retreat and is falling back towards the outlying suburbs of the city." The officer finished looking ever more paler as he went along.

Welliks lips turned into a thin line out of frustration as he hung his head and shook it in utter defeat gripping his mind. _'Where are my reinforcements?! Where is lord Vader?! Doesn't the Emperor know what's happening in his own Empire?!' _He angrily demanded to himself. Surely the Emperor knew what was happening yet the idea that no one could penetrate the Moffs forces into the system baffled and scared Wellik to no end!

"Someone contact colonel Otik now! I want a report from sector 1-1-D at 'Seelden' on the double!" Camderan demanded, wanting to know if Moff troopers were penetrating any further into Seelden island as of yet.

"No report in since the last commander Wellik, sir! Contact has been lost for three hours time now." The officer reported and looked just as gloomy as everyone else gathered.

"Report coming in from General Ferrous, commander sir! He wishes to speak with you at once." Officer Roland from the tower declared to which Camderan nodded and stood straight up attempting to at least look composed for the general. "Put him on screen three Roland."

The screen then blink to life and the face of the general materialized. A younger man of his mid twenties. General Ferrous was hardly looked the part of an Imperial general, but the bald, green eyed man was indeed a general of the Empire. He also looked completely drained when Wellik laid eyes on his face.

"You wished to speak with me, sir?" Camderan began. Ferrous sneered, but Camderan figured it had to do with a random explosion just behind the general rather than himself.

"Indeed I did commander Wellik. Barlata is crumbling before our very eyes! I got at least four AT-AT's advancing on my current position and I have no air support, no orbital support, and sure as krffing hell don't have any armored or regular infantry support, or heck any reinforcements!" The general declared as he held a hand up to his right ear trying to block out massive chaotic noise heard in the background.

"I understand you completely sir. So what exactly would you have me do?" Wellik asked as more dread crept up his spine. The general smirked and simply let out a huff in resignation.

"I don't know really commander." The general admitted much to Welliks shock and confusion. IN fact so much so that he did not respond to the general and merely glanced around himself nervously.

The general sighed deeply, "I suppose I could do with a platoon movements update from sectors T through V, commander." Camderan gave a terse nod and looked over a live up-to-date data streaming terminal in front of him.

"Of course sir," He said still looking downwards. "Troop movements have halted in sector T, due to a massive Stormtrooper encirclement of three militia platoons under command of colonel Dreitz. He is requesting immediate aid to breakout, sir."

"Irrelevant." The general quickly retorted. "Any officer that can get encircled like that deserves his fate. Cut all transmissions from his command, and leave him to his end. Continue on commander." Wellik swallowed hard mentally taking note not to do something to anger the general for the time being.

"Sector U is being steadily pushed back from '_Delcor,' _city, and lieutenant colonel Welint is reporting casualties on his end to be seventy-two percent. While enemy forces are incurring little loss on their side." Ferrous huffed out loudly.

"I cant believe this madness!" He cried loudly. "We are Imperials for the Emperors sake! How and why are we loosing so terribly to this renegade Moff?!" He demanded of nothing and nobody.

Wellik would have answered but officer Roland suddenly spoke up.

"Commander Wellik sir! Priority transmission has just been intercepted from Imperial Center!" The officer near breathlessly cried out catching the attention of every man present among the HQ, staff present. Even general Ferrous looked on in stunned silence at nothing really, as he too heard the officer himself despite the mass of fire and explosions on his end.

"Well don't just stand there you fool! What does it say?!" Wellik demanded as his heart practically skipped a beat and his adrenaline began pounding in anticipation.

Roland began reading over the text communication and soon began spouting off the words.

"Executive Imperial command from the office of the Emperor." Those words alone silenced any who still dared to make a noise in the room. "Under orders of the Galactic Emperor; his majesty Emperor Palpatine, all Imperial forces on Bestine are to hold position and maintain opposition till the very last man standing falls. Pullback towards central Imperial command is acceptable at this time." Wellik was already shocked at the allowance of a retreat being expressed in an executive directive from the Emperors office no less. However he had little time to mull the information over as Roland continued on.

"Imperial forces outnumbering Moff Alliance forces are en-route to Bestine and will arrive under the command of Admiral Treuten Teradoc; whom has been allotted command of one hundred-seventy-three naval vessels." Wellik could feel a cascade of relief fall over him, but knew the situation was still dire, and he noted that general Ferrous seemed practically giddy at the news. However Wellik furrowed his brow when the communication mentioned a, "Moff Alliance."

_'I thought this was just one mans last ditch attempt at holding onto power of any kind. But, a whole alliance of disgruntled ex-Moffs? This goes further than I would have ever dreamed, or ever would have wanted.'_ The young officer thought as a sneaking feeling gnawed at the back of his mind.

"Initial relief from Admiral Teradoc will suffice Bestine commands immediate needs, until the arrival of Supreme Commander, Lord Vader in approximately, nine hours time as of this transmission." Roland took in another breath. While Wellik and every man present; including general Ferrous, paled at the mentioning of the infamous SC, of the Empire.

"Hold strong and steady Bestine Imperials. Admiral Teradoc will arrive in two hours time as of this transmission. All hail the Emperor!" Was what it ended with in dramatic fashion.

Roland now finished chanced his sight over towards his fellow colleagues and saw them with the same pale expression planted onto their faces as he had on his. Everyone was thinking it, and no one wanted to say it really. But, the revelation of a supposed Moff Alliance left little room for interpretation.

"Gentlemen the Empire is at war. As such we are now all at war as well." Camderan spoke to the crowd of his men and soldiers while Ferrous listened in as well. Stifling a sigh he placed both hands behind his back and lifted his head high in all Imperial propriety expected of him.

"Let us hold firm as demanded of us, and await our aid from his most gracious majesty the Emperor, and deliver to the Empire a grand initial victory against these rebelling scum known as the Moffs!" Camderan declared suddenly and proudly raising a tightly clenched fist into the air, and a cheer erupted from all his men in return. Ferrous then quickly said his goodbyes, and made for his own announcements to his men. All the while the battle for Bestine raged on and needing tending to.

For soon every Imperial officer would be doing the same for their men, and for their worlds. For the fires of war were about to be fanned from what was but a spark, into an all consuming blazing inferno of destruction, and all needed to be ready for it's coming everywhere in the galaxy abroad.

* * *

Okay so when it comes to Bestine, some cities and places are made up but I hope that was kinda expected for after all many Star Wars planets have very little descriptions or places already set in cannon. So i hope you all enjoy and review. Thanks again for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(Imperial Stardestroyer Conquest, Maintaining low orbit above Bestine)

"Maintain current orbital level over the planet, captain. Be sure to maintain our constant and current levels of communication with Admiral Folt, and the rest of his fleet as well." Nox Vellam ordered, receiving an aye of confirmation from his ships captain. He stood over at the viewport of the Conquest with both eyes firmly planted on the celestial orb before him. _'Bestine._ _But a day ago you were but another world of the galaxy and of the Galactic Empire. No real troubles no real significance_.' The Moff mused silently.

'_Now you are the very heart, the center and needle point of war. Almost sad really.' _Vellam thought as he could just make out several massive pillars of smoke rising into the planetoids' atmosphere below.

"Your Excellency," came an officers voice and caught the Moffs' attention. _'I must say I do rather like the new title myself.' _Vellam thought with a slight smile forming across his face.

"Your Excellency, we have been informed by general Seddick, that all our forces are pushing forward on all fronts." Nox nodded with a sense of satisfaction filling him.

"Excellent, truly excellent, indeed." He responded looking to all his men with a sense of mild pride also filling him.

"However sir we have monitored all broadcasts; both incoming and outgoing as ordered, and have found something I think you should see." The officer continued on with a hint of trepidation in his voice as he said so.

Nox waved him off however. "Now, now I'm sure whatever you've seen is hardly worth getting all flustered over." He said dismissively. To which his officer pursed his lips worriedly.

"Actually, your Excellency I think it's quite worthy of being flustered over." The officer said in a fully serious voice. "It is a special transmission from the Emperors office himself, sir" The officers voice now but a mere whisper informed Vellam who quickly nodded his understanding and steeled himself.

"Ah I see. Please officer be so kind as to show me this message than." The officer nodded and led him over to the communications terminal and excused the comms officer who also knew of the intercepted message.

"Here we are sir. I must say it seems clear to me what this message means your Excellency." The officer added.

Vellam bent over the comms officers chair to read the text over himself. As his eyes skimmed over all the information, a shaking slowly crept up his spine, and a knot formed within his gut to his very core even. Brining a sense of nausea and slight wooziness to him. _'So this is it then?' _Vellam asked himself, already knowing the answer, and knowing there really was no, and never would be, any ability to turn back now.

"Very well. If that's the way the Emperor wants to play the game. Then we shall play the game indeed." Vellam intoned with a louder voice and catching many of the bridges' attention.

"I have the pleasure of informing everyone here that war with the Empire is now assured!" All men looked to him with mixed reactions ranging from excitement, to shock and even slight terror ebbed onto their features.

"The Conquest has just intercepted as special communication from the Emperors office made for the troublesome resistance below on Bestine. It assures them of an incoming fleet numbering over a hundred vessels and larger than our own. Especially now that several have left us for repairs." Vellam continued on, as he began pacing the bridges length.

"Not only that, but the Emperor is sending the bane of all our existence's lord Vader himself!" Now all the men were thoroughly petrified.

"So, our clear and gracious offer of peace has been met with contempt and ill will. I say it is high time we put the Emperor and his hound in their rightfully deserved places! Let us send word to every one of our allies that war is upon us all, and let this day be remembered as the day the Moff Alliance began its victorious crusade against the dictatorship of Palpatine! Let the galaxy hear our cry of war, and call for change! Let us wage the greatest and most righteous of wars! To victory!" Nox declared loudly holding his arms out from his body in a sign of leadership and power. Every man there let loose cheered, as they felt nothing but anxiety and even fear well inside them, but the adrenaline pumping through them made them feel nearly euphoric in their new leaders words.

"Captain!" Nox called and said officer turned to him and bowed. "Yes, your Excellency?"

"Send out the prepared orders to all our designated allies. Then send out our little Holonet surprise on all channels and every transit wave. I want all to hear my voice this day." Vellam ordered as he made his way back to the viewport of the Conquest. He received his captains aye, and nodded to himself in acceptance of what he had done and was about to do.

'_Now let us play the greatest game of my life, Palpatine.' _With that thought Vellam went silent both towards others and himself. Further reflection and thought, would only serve to weaken his resolve and scare him further than he already was.

(Coruscant, Imperial palace, Moments Later)

Exar moved among the gathered members of the Imperial power structure with ever intrigued and observing eyes. Among the vast group was everybody he had met at the Emperors little get together. Only now they all weren't so cheery, and easygoing, not at all. Generals looked hard, and readied even aching for a war. Admirals seemed prideful and cheery on their own. Members of the Intelligence and internal defense departments seemed anxious, worried, and full of frustration.

The dark lord walked down another palace hall and noted that Stromtroopers were running almost without reason up and down the halls of the palace. He assumed it was due to heightened alerts being sent throughout all the Empire for the upcoming official recognition of a Moff rebellion and of the war declarations. Furthermore, he noted crimson clad royal guards positioned everywhere, where once they were never seen before, and the dark lord noticed the home fleet of Coruscant was more visible today than ever before that he could remember since his second coming.

'_Now this is just great fun! A little while longer and my plans will finally enter into the most fun of my planned stages yet!' _The Sith lord thought with a grin forming across his face. He was at this moment making for his room to send out official orders to Admiral Refflet of the 68th upon his return to Alderaan, and to his awaiting apprentice. Whom he couldn't wait to hone his skills through the brutalities and opportunities war offered to a Sith.

Exar continued on walking forward. His pace not that of someone in a hurry, and he really wasn't at all. He knew Vader had this Vellam on a good leash. _'So, why worry over such things when they are merely an extension of your own will personified?' _he figured and went on forward.

"Lord Kun!" Yelled a breathy voice. The dark lord stooped dead in his tracks and turned to see an Imperial officer; garbed in the normal uniform, jogging towards him with a pained look upon his face.

"Yes, what is it officer?" Exar asked, crossing his arms over his chest in a look of mild annoyance and authority.

"Forgive me for bothering you, my lord, but the Emperor requests your presence immediately in conference room, four-four-six, just two floors up from here." The officer said between his harsh panting. Apparently he had run the second the Emperor ordered him to fetch Kun. Which amused the dark lord slightly.

"Already? The last meeting I had with the Emperor was less than two hours ago! Are you sure he has requested me now?" The officer nodded hurriedly in reply.

"Yes, at once milord! A new development has formed, and the Emperor specifically demanded you to meet with him. The Moffs have made their declarations before his majesty could convene congress in time for him to make his own." Exar nodded his understandings and force himself not to grin again in sight of the young officer before him.

"Very well, officer. I will make for there at once. Continue on with any further duties of yours." Kun ordered, and then turned on a heel and made for the nearest turbolift without waiting for a reply.

Quickly finding one, the Sith lord entered his desired palace floor and stood eagerly and in silence as it took only several moments for the lift to ascend and come to an ever so slight jerking stop.

The doors slid open and he made out of the lift quickly. Soon coming upon a collective of royal guardsmen, and regular troopers all clamoring around this one room entrance as they all had been pulled to watch over their lord and master.

They allowed him to pass without delay, and upon entering this different conference room than the one from before Exar was immediately greeted with the face of Vellam making a speech, and decided to; like the Emperor some feet away from him, stand and simply listen.

"…it is because of these recent actions that I; and many more of my fellow colleagues within the Moff office of power, have decided to hereby secede from the galactic Empire. Effective immediately the; now officially declared Moff Alliance, will no longer take orders form the Emperor of the Galactic Empire." Vellam declared and Kun could feel the force prickling around the Emperor in an intensity that Exar had to admit was impressive.

"Let all who hear my voice know that I offered peace to his majesty through private messages as to not drag the whole galaxy into needless debate and probable bloodshed, but I was refused and I will not be so easily cast aside. And neither will any other of us Moffs ever again!" Vellam declared with a raised fist.

Kun spotted and quickly approached Armand Isard. "How long has he been going on?" Exar asked and made the Intelligence officer slightly jump in surprise, but he was quick to mask it and regain his composure. "Vellam began broadcasting on a wideband Imperial overriding signal across the entire Holonet about ten minutes ago. He's been going on about how the murders, assassinations, and powers limitations acts are an affront to him and the usual argument." Armand whispered as Vellam went on in the background and Kun nodded his understanding.

"All galactic sectors that will be joining us will be listed in a text release to the Holonet in due time, and any attempts by the citizenry of these sectors, systems, and worlds to secede from us will be met with aggressive military actions. Either you are an Imperial aligned world and therefore our enemy henceforth, or attempting to break away in rebellion, and we are no rebel force or sympathizers. We will not allow barbarous, and rebellious forces to bring their scourge and chaos to our systems this I promise you all!"

The Moff further declared. Kun knew for a fact that part was Vaders doing. _'Poor rebel fools.' _Kun thought with a smirk, as he could imagine some rebels being hopeful that they might have had a chance with this Moff Alliance.

He turned to Isard again. "How did he bypass intelligence? Did no one detect the breach of the Holonet?" Armand sighed lowly.

"I.S.B, detected a breach in the Imperial Holonet general servers. The breach was found to not bear the usual rebel or hacker breach coding we had grown accustomed to, and it was soon revealed to be an old Imperial general override code that was only to be used under emergency circumstances akin to the Emperors death or assassination." Armand said with a look of disgust after mentioning I.S.B.

"It immediately shut down all non government transceivers, and forced the government controlled stations to take over all their transmission waves and thus their relays, and a general prerecorded transmission was sent out across the entire galaxy to all watching or using the Holonet for whatever purpose." Armand looked angrier than kun had ever seen before. "Thus Vellam has free reign over the Holonet until I.S.B can shut down the government transceivers or lock out the emergency override codes Vellam has."

Kun again nodded and internally was praising another.

'_Ha ha! Pure genius lord Vader. Pure simple genius!' _Exar declared as he knew this just had to be on the instruction of Vader. Not even he had thought of something like this.

"Until I have an official declaration of surrender upon my desk I will continue to push into the Inner Rim, and the Colonies. Further and further until the Emperor is neutralized and Coruscant freed of his rule!" Kun snapped back towards Vellam as he realized he missed some of his speech because of his questions with Isard.

"So I will no longer hide my intentions, no longer procrastinate with this heavily laced speech of big words. I hereby as Governor-General of the Moff Alliance declare war upon the now; not so Galactic, Galactic Empire!" Vellam loudly declared with his voice slightly growing hoarse at the end.

"Death to Palpatine, and death to the Empire!" Was the last he said before his message stopped and began to repeat. Showing to Kun that it was indeed prerecorded as Isard had said, and still under Vellams control.

"Mute this complete garbage at once!" The Emperor roared and an aid scurried to mute the recordings, but leave the face of Vellam talking silently on screen.

"I don't know who yet," Palpatine said pointing his boney finger back at the gathered men. "But rest assured that someone here will pay for allowing this Moff to not only form this pathetic rebellion against me, but allowing him to take command of the whole Holonet system!" Palpatine roared causing the whole room to shake in wake of his rage. Exar felt the dark side seething. While Exar sensed from everyone else utter terror at their lords rage, and smirked to himself. _'Don't make turning them too easy please your majesty.' _He thought as he maintained his outward silence.

"I demand to know where lord Vader is at once!" An aid of his keyed into a nearby terminal.

"Mmm…my lord he is, uh, still in hyperspace. In um, route to, well here Imperial Center, milord." The babbling idiot finally spat out nearly wetting himself at his lords anger.

"Where is Admiral Teradoc than?" The dark lord demanded further as he glared daggers into nearly all present, as his anger this day would not be calmed. This day he was the mad beast the dark side made him.

"Approximately one hour left until his fleets arrival over Bestine your majesty." Isard commented catching a swift turning glare from the Emperor.

"It is obvious that Vellam intercepted the message sent to our forces on Bestine you fools!" everyone remained quiet. "Meaning Vellam will more than likely reinforce his own position or call for a general attack across the galaxy!" The Emperor looked over towards the Holonet terminal and was slightly eased by an Imperial "technical difficulties,' message being the only thing visible signaling I.S.B had wrested control of the Holonet from Vellam finally. However, the damage was already done.

"Contact all our armed forces everywhere, order a general attack against ALL known Moffs! Whether they surrender or not is irrelevant execute them all! Henceforth all Moffs are enemies of the New Order and the Empire!" Armand pulled out a data pad and immediately began transmitting new orders to Intelligence command as did Crueya to Imperial Security and maybe even COMPNOR, and all the generals and admirals present followed the examples in suit.

"Pestage!" The vizier bowed deeply at hearing his name called. Though he was near shaking as well himself. "Yes your almighty, highness?"

"Prepare for me a counter-speech at once! We will show the galaxy that I am ready and willing for this pathetic war just as much as Vellam is! And be sure to make it awe inspiring, at once!" Palpatine declared with venom spat with every word spoken.

"At once milord." Pestage responded feebly and made for the exit as quick as humanly possible. While Palpatine roared for everyone else to begin immediate preparations for an all out attack and for counter measures to be put into immediate effect.

"Kun, come here I need to speak with you…alone." The old man beckoned after many people already began filing out of the conference room with haste, and Kun had too, already turned to leave along with them. _'Damn it.' _Exar thought in exclamation, before bowing his head and approaching…slowly.

The old man returned to sitting on one of the conference rooms conference tables' metallic seats with his two guards flanking him. A look of pain evident upon his face mixed with the furrowed look of rage. For even the almighty Palpatine had to concede to the fact his body was failing with every year he remained alive, and his unleashed fury taxed him greatly.

"Yes your highness?" Exar asked, essentially greeting the man after not talking to him in a long while, and the Emperor simply waved his pleasantries off.

"I have need of your services lord Kun." Exar raised an inquisitive brow.

"Indeed? May I ask what for exactly?" The Emperor studied him for a moment before answering.

"Yes…I want you to address the congress in my stead. I will announce the Empires counter-war declaration and maintain command of the armed forces from the palace until lord Vaders arrival." Kun was taken slightly aback.

"Why do you want me to do it your highness?"

"Because, Kun I have far more important things to deal with than those petty circles of rabble today! If they give you any trouble tell them I said that exactly!" He growled and Kun merely gave a curt nod of understanding. "Good, now answer all their petty questions as you see fit, and be sure to show to those snakes who is still in command here, and if by some chance senators from any of the sectors Vellam claims to be his, don't show. Find them; hunt them down, and kill them like rats!" The Emperor venomously ordered, and Exar smirked in return.

"Of course your majesty as you will." Exar said and then made for the exit, but before he left he heard the Emperor say, "Yes…as I will. Always as I will."

Exar smirked. _'Don't worry old man I'll take care of all this 'hard' work for you.' _he mocked and made his way to the nearest turbolift. He had a call needing taken care of.

(Alderaan, Aldera Palace)

Viathan stood with a look of complete seriousness upon his face as his brow furrowed and his face scrunched in hatred towards what he had just watched. The Holonet screen before him was now blank save for a simple Imperial Text declaring the entire net, to be having technical difficulties. He had just watched Nox Vellam spout his war cry too, and felt sure that this had something to do with his master and lord Vader, but didn't want to really dwell on it any longer. _'Bad timing indeed.' _He thought with a deep sigh escaping.

He had been training Leia for several days now, and the girl was becoming more and more powerful by every passing day. Heck, by the very hour even! At that thought he allowed a slight smile to cross his face as he felt a sense of mild pride wash over him, and remembered how much he enjoyed being around the girl. After she initially accepted his proposal to train her in the ways of lightsaber combat, and the force she and he had spent almost the rest of that first day beginning to delve into simple telekinetic moves. Levitating datapads, pushing and pulling a ball across the floor, even sensing an opponents intentions and moves in combat.

'_She will make a powerful Sith one day. I only hope she doesn't change too much….' _Viathan mentally slapped himself and groaned at his own musings. As he quickly tried to toss the thought aside and out of his mind. _'Don't hope for her! Don't pretend as if you care what happens to this…this mere one girl! She is not a friend. She is a tool, or at least will soon be! She will be molded into power itself and she will one day be a servant of the greater image, the greater design!' _Viathan thought as a sudden realization dawned upon him in horror.

"Wait…I know that I'm supposed to be doing this for my master." He thought aloud as he stood alone in his masters quarters again. "I do not contradict myself on such a venomous scale…at least I haven't in a long while…not since." His eyes widened at the realization and immediately growled in anger.

'_I had rid myself of you months ago!' _Viathan snarled to himself internally.

'_I told you long ago I would never leave you. I would always be here in the hidden and quiet places of your little mind. Beckoning you, influencing you and insuring you stay along the greater path as intended by the master. The oh so magnificent and wonderful master who ordained your life entire!' _The voice cried out in quick reply as Viathan felt immediately ill and clutched his stomach in nausea.

'_My new master rid me of you! You don't exist, you are but a symptom of a greater disease!' _Viathan declared to the voice that he had been for so long free of.

He could almost sense a laugh in his very mind.

'_Ah yes, the new master of yours. Did I not pound the message into your head day in and day out?! Did I not make you beg and plead for forgiveness for walking the very ground he did?! Did I not do enough to break and mold you into the stronger of peoples?!' _The voice berated him and snarled. All the while Viathan clutched his head in pain. _'AH! It hurts…it hurts so much!' _He internally yelled in pain. It felt like a knife was trying to crawl through his very brain and a vice gripped his head all at once.

'_Of course it hurts! You have broken yourself by surrendering to your weakness! You forsook one master that was too hard,' _It said mockingly. _'Just so that you could take on the easier of masters! So you could surrender to your weakness you are pathetic!' _It cried and Viathan collapsed to his knees as his mind felt as if it was being ripped in two.

Viathan just barely made out the sound of the comm terminal blaring in the room, but all it did was cause his head to pound further.

"Leave me alone damn you!" He screamed into thin air, and continued to clutch his head in pain. The dark side prickled about him, and anger laced with pain was fueling his power. In this moment the voice suddenly vanished and Viathan tentatively, and shakily rose to a stand with his vision slightly blurred.

Quickly making for the comm until he keyed in his acceptance of the call and soon was greeted by the full body image of his master, Exar Kun.

"There you are apprentice. I've been looking for you for at least ten minutes now!" The elder Sith lord said. Viathan bowed in turn. "Forgive me master I was….indisposed for a moment." He said all the while his head continued pounding in rhythm.

Kun however, simply waved him off. "No matter." The dark lord said smiling. "We are entering into a new faze in history apprentice. With the Moff treachery fully realized all Imperial forces must be mobilized at once." Exar intoned with a smirk as he expected his apprentice to know what he was talking about, and luckily Viathan was happy he did indeed know. "As such, I have left a message with the fleet above Alderaan to relay my instructions for them to Admiral Refflet upon his immediate return to Alderaanian orbit." Viathan resigned himself to simply nodding his understanding as his master went on with his orders and speeches. As he felt no ability nor any will to engage in full; or heck, partial conversation with his master at all.

"As such, when Refflet returns, I want you to prepare for your immediate recall to Coruscant. Leave the appropriate garrison behind to maintain control of the Alderaanian population, and recall all other nonessential Imperial forces planet side as well. They will be returning for redeployment themselves." Kun ordered and Viathan continued to nod.

"You will soon taste a true war my apprentice. Good practice for the future I have planned for you I think." Exar smirked. "Now do you understand all of what I've just ordered of you, Viathan?" The apprentice in question nodded again and feebly said, "Yes, my master."

"Very good than. Now, do tell me what has become of our dear princess of Alderaan?" Kun asked as an afterthought. To which Viathan finally fund the strength to smile.

"She has accepted tutelage under me master. You should have felt her power! It was glorious!" Viathan declared happily. To which Kun grinned and nodded approvingly.

"Excellent indeed apprentice. Then you should be indeed happy that I am ordering you to bring her with you to Coruscant." Viathan perked up immediately.

"Really master?" He caught himself and cleared his throat. "I...I mean yes of course my master, I will inform her at once."

"Be sure that you do Viathan." He responded tersely.

"Now, I will be delivering a speech before the Imperial congress shortly after the official declarations have been made against Vellam by our friend the Emperor." Viathan tensed at his old masters mentioning.

"I will not be in contact with you until your arrival at the palace in at the least a days time, at the most several days." Kun crossed his arms in a moment of thought as if he was going over in his mind if he said all he had wanted to say.

"Ah yes, if the princess gives you any trouble about coming to Coruscant; express to her that her father wishes to see her again, and if anything force her. She will understand in time." Kun said and Viathan bowed. "Of course master. Though I don't think her fathers words mean much to her at the moment."

Exar gave a chuckle. "Indeed? Well no matter than, do whatever you can to try and accommodate our dear princess in her travels then. Beyond that I have nothing else to demand of you apprentice. I will see you in a while." Viathan bowed again. "As you wish, my master." Kun gave a mock salute and his image vanished from sight.

Viathan immediately felt nausea return to him however and tried to shake it off, only to hear that grating voice again. _'You do realize that your master will fail in whatever he seeks to do against our glorious lord?' _It mocked him with a laugh. _'Perhaps if you spill your guts to the master he may forgive you yet, and maybe even reward you for your faithfulness towards him. He can be gracious.' _It offered and Viathan physically shook his head in rising anger.

"I will not betray my new master. This master will soon take the old mans place and then I shall be recognized for my worth! I wont be a piece of dirt for another to step on with impunity! I will be known as something worth keeping around! I will be a Sith lord!" Viathan seethed through gritted teeth loudly to no one, but his own psychotic inner voice, and quickly enveloped himself in the power of the dark side. Allowing it to fill and empower him, and to wrap and enfold him as a shield, a blanket even of dark power.

"Now be gone from my mind you foul manifestation of my weakness!" He growled and attempted to subdue the voice with the force only for it to mock him once more.

'_I may be silenced for a time, but I will be here waiting for you, my friend. I am always here. Always will be.' _With that Viathans head stopped pounding almost instantaneously and he felt the voice fade away into nothingness again. Allowing him to exhale a breath that felt more like a ton of bricks rather than air.

Looking towards the door to the quarters he sighed and decided it was better to find and inform the princess now rather than waiting. _'The sooner the better.' _He thought and strode out the room, and went to work looking for his "friend."

(Bestine System)

The battle for Bestine was becoming more and more of an annoyance and Vellam was growing more visibly annoyed by the minute because of it. His secondary support, fleet had arrived in the system twenty-minutes ago commanded by an Admiral named, Deedric, and was now in defensive positioning around the entire system in preparation for any counterattack, the one Vellam knew was going to come at any moment now.

After he had broadcasted his speech across the galaxy he got immediate responses from many of his fellow Moffs and allies. Reports of anti Moff actions across the Mid Rim and Expansion Region were already coming in with several mass riots on worlds such as Ord Mantell, Juvex, Umbara, and Cyrillia. The local Moff forces were reporting back containment efforts being engaged and mass counter attacks being initiated. Apparently patriotic sensibilities for the Empire were still riding high for the Imperial attack at Dubrava, and Vellam had not taken into account the probability that populations under the control of the Moffs he now commanded may not want what their regional Moffs wanted.

'_Oh just grand! To start this bloody war off I have to kill the people I claim command over! Kriffing rebel scum the lot of them!' _Vellam thought with seething disgust. Even the first assault at Bestine was taking hours and hours, and yes he knew it was a whole planet but he had devoted so many forces to this attack that the longer it dragged the more useful these troops could have been elsewhere.

"Your Excellency! We have Imperial warships entering the system! They are not transmitting our codes!" his comms officer called out and caused every man present to turn their head in varying degrees of shock.

"Understood officer. Contact Admiral Deedric and put him on screen." Vellam ordered and received the confirming aye from the officer who keyed in the appropriate codes.

"Admiral Deedric, this is Vellam." He greeted to the man who just now materialize on screen. "Imperial warships have entered the system. At coordinates that you should be receiving now." Vellam declared and looked to his comms officer who nodded and began transmitting.

"Yes sir, we are receiving the coordinates now. Shall we make for immediate intercept course?"

Nox gave a single curt nod. "Indeed Admiral. Take immediate command of your fleet and mine as well under Admiral Folt. I must break away and return to Ord Mantell at once to maintain the Alliances' integrity." Nox said with a wave of his hand. "I do hope you understand that admiral." Deedric gave a slight nod himself.

"Of course sir. You are; after all, our new leader." Nox got the feeling Deedric didn't fully believe him, or at the least thought him a coward. Yet Vellam didn't give a damn what he thought to be honest.

"Excellent. Let your strikes be swift and destructive, admiral! Bring down this Imperial fleet and then we make for the inner Rim!" Nox declared and Deedric nodded.

"Very good your Excellency. At once, Admiral Deedric out." Vellam nodded to himself, before turning to the Conquests captain.

"Make for Ord Mantell at once. Leave this damnable battle for others to carry out." His captain bowed slightly.

"Very good sir."

To which Vellam turned quiet again. _'At least I wont be the one dying today.' _He mused as the ship gave a lurch and jumped into the swirling stream of hyperspace. Leaving the two forces to enter into an important and decisive battle of this; as of yet, early war.

* * *

Here is another chapter people. Next chapter I will go into the battle scene. After all this is my war to describe. :D


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(Bestine System)

"We are entering the Bestine system now, sir." A captain by the name of 'Dritt,' informed as the swirls of hyperspace suddenly vanished and the endless stars of space came back into view. The admiral, a slightly elderly looking man with graying hair and a thin mustache across his face, nodded with an oh so proper and curt nod. "Very good captain. Order all vessels to spread out in wolf-pack formations throughout the system in squads of four." Admiral Teradoc ordered clasping his hands behind his back like any good Imperial would. "I want our 'pack' to form up and head for Bestine IV at once." On his order several officers began immediately relaying orders to the rest of the fleet of one-hundred-seventy fin Imperial warships.

"Admiral Teradoc, sir! We have Imperial vessels approaching the fleet from our right flank! They are not transmitting any of the new designated codes!" One officer stiffly called out, and Teradoc snapped his head out his vessels, the '_Impact_'s, viewport. He immediately caught sight of two Tartan-class patrol cruisers on either side of a singular Stardestroyer ominously approaching his fleet.

"Acknowledged. Order all TIE squadrons to launch from their hangers immediately. Engage hostile Moff forces at once! Have the '_Justification,' _and '_Imperator III_,' move into bombardment formations. Order all our Tartans to engage with rapid fire and cripple that Stardestroyer's shields, bombers hang back and move in after shield collapse for critical bombing runs!" Teradoc commanded wiping an unseen sheen of sweat from his brow, and listened to the loud clamoring of his officers relaying his orders.

"They're firing on us!" Just then the '_Impact_,' shook with violence as the enemy Stardestroyer opened fire with its turbolaser batteries. "Shields are holding sir." Another officer declared, and Teradoc nearly snarled.

"Open fire you idiots! All ships open fire now!" The muted sound of turbolasers firing sounded and a mess of green masses flew from ship to ship while the Tartans under Teradoc practically flung themselves forward towards the enemy capital ship and began firing a rapid flurry of laser fire and marvelously crippled the ships shielding already.

"All TIE squads move into attack formations! Target their Tartans and keep all TIE interceptors on fleet defensive, and interdiction duties!" Teradoc ordered as the enemy tartans started approaching firing their own batteries upon Teradocs fleet. "Ships in bombardment range! They are opening fire now!" Teradoc watched as his two Stardestroyer's began firing down onto the enemy vessel from above and quickly reduced its shielding capacity. The TIE's moved in and a mass of bomb squads began dropping their payloads all across the top of the ship.

"Admiral, sir! Scanners count four Acclamator-II assault ships exiting hyperspace!" Teradoc scanned the viewport before settling on the four rather outdated vessels shooting into view and they immediately opened fire on his Tartans.

"Reroute several TIE squadrons at once! I want four Stardestroyer's, and five Victory-II's in wolf-pack formation around those ships now!" He declared pointing towards the newcomer ships unnecessarily. As the sneaking sensation of fear crept along his spine, and sweat continued to coat his forehead and brow line.

A massive quake ripped through the ship and Teradoc lurched forward but glimpsed the opposite Stardestroyer cracking in two with a massive explosion reverberating through the void of space. The bow of the ship started to begin free-floating, deadweight in space and drift from the main body of the Stardestroyer as fires that were spread across the vessel was exposed to his sight.

"All ships focus on the Acclamators, and wipe those damnable Tartans out now!" Teradoc brushed his suit of nonexistent debris and watched TIEs begin rapidly banking to engage the new vessels while three Victory class ships of his began raining down on the Tartans that had already sustained plenty of damage.

"Sir, a whole enemy fleet exiting hyperspace!" Another officer again cried and in a flash more than forty "Imperial" ships entered normal space. _'My word.' _Teradoc thought with a moment of shock overtaking him but was soon replaced by arrogance, his pride, and a sense of clear vision.

"All ships enter into general forward attack position take them all out!" He further ordered and watched the whole fleet push forward and simultaneously unleash a mass volley of fire. Ranging from green turbolaser fire to a mess of rockets and torpedoes. "TIE fighters have engaged enemy fighters entering within range of the fleet! Interceptors are joining the engagement of enemy TIEs as well." One officer declared without stopping his work on his terminal.

"We've lost bomber squadron five-two-eight! TIE fighter squadron four-nine-three moving to engage…

The _Resolute-Wrath _is taking fire from enemy Victory-class vessel, Interceptors are being cut down fast!

We're taking hits Admiral, sir! Maintaining shield strength at sixty-seven percent! Three turbolaser batteries crippled!"

Teradoc felt swamped as information was being barraged at him from several officers all at once. All the while his Victory-class ships encircled the enemy Acclamators and began barraging them with fire.

"Two enemy Acclamators have lost shielding and their engines have been crippled as well sir!" Teradoc made a "humph," noise of righteousness. "Excellent, all ships continue on course, and destroy this rebel fleet! Teach the Moffs a lesson they will not soon forget!"

Teradoc didn't receive in cry from his men but he felt his own pride swell, and really that was enough for him. For outside his viewport he watched yet another enemy Stardestroyer loose an entire chuck of itself and explode due to the unrelenting pounding it was receiving from two Tartans and three Broadside-class ships.

Four Victory-class ships were going at it all out with an Imperial-I-class Stardestroyer while his own Stardestroyer gave rocketry support from afar. TIEs were freely shooting through space and engaging those they may have once called allies, and maybe even knew one another. TIE bombers were launching bombardment attacks along the massive Stardestroyers and even skimming along smaller vessels and ripping into the ships for either side of this conflict. A magnificent sight was where two Victory-class vessels began to fire on one another from their sides going in opposite direction and both received and sent blows that led to masses of metal flying out in sheer carnage.

Random explosions of green, red, and blue lit up the space around them and debris of now destroyed vessels began to float into clusters of trash. No doubt bodies were also beginning to freely fly through the void of space as well, but it was a worthy cost to Teradoc, and a sight to behold if the bodes were of the Moff allied variety. The Moff fleet was waning and Teradoc was pleasantly surprised at that fact.

'_You would think Moffs would be able to at least put some effort into a fight.' _He mused as stroked his miniscule facial hair and smirked at his fortunes in a near comical fashion if one were to see him.

"Sir! The enemy fleet is attempting to surround the entire armada!" One officer called out, and Teradoc gazed out the viewport looking from left to right several times looking for what his officer was reporting. He did at last see at least twenty Moff vessels beginning to move around his far more massive fleet in an attempt to fire on them from all sides, no doubt. They were being led by three Stardestroyers on either side with nothing but Victory and Acclamator class vessels following and firing on his fleet as they moved along his flanks.

"Order vice admiral, Kon to interdict our immediate portside encroachers at once! Do the same for vice admiral Lyint for our starboard! Do NOT, allow the Moffs to squeeze our fleet!" He ordered in a near growl as he paced up and down the bridge in ever so slight anxiety.

"Sub-fleets moving into formation now sir! Admiral Kon , is reporting heavy reprisal from three Stardestroyers attacking his last Tartan cruiser!"

"Admiral Lyint is reporting Moff forces breaking off from formation! He is ordering his forces to give chase sir." Two officers reported causing Teradoc to go straight for the viewport and look past the mass of destruction and chaos before him and look at the two secondary fleets engaging smaller break offs from the Moff fleet.

While on his opposite side, the forces under Kon were being heavily bombarded from four Victory class ships that had taken up stationary positions attempting to gain an encircling advantage around Teradocs forces.

The secondary force under Lyint in turn were continuing to go head to head with the breakaway Moff forces with mass green energy blasts of turbolasers flying from one ship to the next. Blasting hulls away from ships, and splintering entire sides of Stardestroyers away. A massive explosion rocked the space around the fleet as yet another enemy Stardestroyer blew in an almost beautiful shockwave of death.

Teradoc allowed a prideful smirk to cross his face upon gazing this spectacle.

"General order to the fleet. Push forward and annihilate all Moff forces you encounter within the system! Today we can't remember the definition of the words surrender or mercy!"

For all Teradoc could see was an enemy fleet in total disarray. It's destruction all but assured.

(Alderaan, Aldera palace)

Despite the fact that his head was still fading in and out of weary pain, and the fact he wanted really badly to catch up on his sleep Viathan knew he had better get this conversation with his "favorite" princess over with. He sighed to himself and rubbed his neck as annoyance overcame him. _'How damn hard is it to find ONE PERSON in ONE PALACE!' _He mentally growled in anger. He had walked these halls for what felt like forever, and no matter where he went he couldn't find Leia.

Viathan began running both hands through his hair; which was still pulled back into a ponytail, and he again loudly sighed into the empty hall. He also too note that it was now indeed dark outside, and the moon of Alderaan was brightly shining in the sky above. _'By the force Leia you are making this far too hard on me.' _Viathan thought, and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

'_Uh...Viathan? Are….are you talking to me right now?' _He slightly jumped and felt slightly more awake at what he just heard. It sounded like the 'voice,' but it was Leia…_wasn't it_? His features scrunched together in confusion, before he finally decided to answer back…mentally.

'_Is that you Leia?' _He asked tentatively in a thought. He swore he could almost 'feel' her going wide eyed.

'_Ye…yes it's me. I uh, I don't get what's going on right now.' _She responded with a clear stutter even in her thoughts.

'_I don't quite understand it myself.' _He replied in honesty. '_But, I have heard of force users being able to 'talk' through their thoughts. I, however, thought that such an ability was confined to those more, well more close.' _Viathan grimaced at that statement but didn't dwell on it.

'_Oh. Well I heard your little outburst, and didn't really know what to say.' _She said in what felt like was meant to be a whisper.

He in turn frowned. _'Oh. Forgive me for that milady. It's just that I have been looking for you for quite some time. I had some information I wanted to speak with you about, and well, I have been to your room, and even spoke to Winter trying to find you all over the palace. From the basements to the high spires.' _Viathan awaited a response intently as he realized he was now standing in a hall and might have looked strange to a passer by if one was to come across him.

'_Ah see there's your problem.' _She said with what sounded like a laugh and Viathan rolled his eyes despite not knowing if she had indeed laughed. _'I'm in the palace garden. Err, well the one that's private to my father.' _Viathan slapped his forehead in annoyance. He hadn't thought to go there, mostly because he hadn't wanted to trouble the royals, or get troubled by them in return.

'_Very well,' _he responded with another audible sigh. _'If you don't mind may I come speak with you, or you meet me somewhere?' _He asked.

'_You can come here if you like it wont bother me I promise you.' _She sounded happy, and felt like she was smiling and Viathan couldn't help but smirk at that.

'_Excellent, I will be there in just a few moments, my dear princess.' _She again felt as if she was laughing in her thoughts, or maybe Viathan was feeling her emotions. _'I told you Viathan, Leia. Call me Leia.' _

Shaking his head he responded with, _'Forgive me, Leia. I am unaccustomed to such informalities if you remember. Nonetheless, I will endeavor to say your name more often, and I will be joining you shortly.' _With the smallest of chuckles escaping from him he made for the nearest turbolift, as he realized he was several levels down from her position.

…

It took him about six minutes altogether, and he soon found himself outside the gardens room door that was personal to the royal family. He did get a laugh though at the looks the Alderaanian guards gave him as he entered without even acknowledging them.

She was sitting off to the side of the room on a visually well maintained wooden bench that was overlooking an artificial pond of some sorts, and he made his way over to her. The room otherwise was lined with trees of all sorts. Some green, others a stunning pink. Graveled pathways were all over the place leading all across the room. Along them were stretches of grass and flowers; all artificially grown there of course, and it made the room look stunningly beautiful even to Viathan. The ceiling was all glass and the moon of Alderaan was shining through brightly as ever and the snow capped mountain ranges in the distance made their commanding presence known to all.

She had her back to him but Viathan sensed that she knew he was there already. So instead of talking from behind her he took a seat right next to her and looked down to the water himself. Seeing that there were indeed several sea creatures in it. All fish, but what kind he didn't know for a fact. No doubt native fish of Alderaan. "Beautiful isn't it?" She asked first and Viathan nodded.

"Indeed it is. This has to be one of the best gardens I've seen. Although to be honest you should see the Imperial gardens in the palace. That will make you believe you're on some undiscovered world with its own strange life to it, full of wondrous variety." He added as he continued to watch the fish swim in unguided circles in the water.

She chuckled. "True I haven't seen those garden, but I haven't been to the palace before, and if I somehow have been I was too young to remember, but I seriously doubt it." Viathan nodded in return.

"I would have thought I would have seen you if you had been." She raised an inquisitive brow.

"You were in the palace a lot I take it then?" With a sigh he again nodded.

"Indeed. It…was my home for most of my life." He trailed off as he looked at the water. A distant look in his eyes that even Leia noted. "Bad memories?" She simply asked in a small voice, and he shrugged.

"They're not all that bad, I don't think so anyways." He looked at her face to face. "Nothing that needs speaking of here and now. Besides I have bigger things to talk about with you than my past." He said with a faint smile on his face, and she; much to his gratitude, smiled and nodded letting the subject be swiftly dropped.

"I do not know if you have heard yet Leia, but it seems that the Empire is now at war." Viathan said, deciding to just get to the heart of the conversation right off from the start. However, he saw her merely frown and nod slowly with a scowl across her brow.

"I heard, and I watched the whole grandiose speech with Winter earlier." Viathan raised his brow but didn't say anything. "I really don't know what to say, let alone think of it all. I don't love the Empire, you know that already though." She smiled a faint one and Viathan gave a nod.

"But, I find myself strangely concerned about the Empire." She said tentatively. "I think it has more to do with what you said about changing it all one day. Maybe the thought of making it into something better makes me apprehensive to see it possibly fall. Or," she then added with a rise in her voice and a bow of her head to punctuate herself. "It could be the fact that I don't want to see Moffs running things instead of the Emperor. Both equally bad, and both equally needing to go." She declared while returning to looking at the water.

"But I still don't get it, and it just…oh I don't know." She said in a defeated tone and Viathan nodded to himself understandingly.

"I get what you mean mil…I mean Leia." He caught himself.

"It's actually nice to hear that maybe you're not so bloodthirsty for Imperial blood today." He said in an attempt at teasing and was glad to see her send him a smirk.

"Ha, ha, very funny my Imperial friend." She returned with her smirk maintained.

Viathan continued on however. "Now here comes the hard part of what wish to tell you I think." He trailed off somewhat earning a look from the princess that seemed half amused and half curious.

"Oh? And do tell what is the 'hard' part my imperial friend?" She asked with a bit of a laugh upon her voice.

"Well…." he stopped for a moment and Viathan couldn't for the life of him understand why he couldn't just spit it out and be done with it. So with a sigh of tired frustration he relented to himself. "I have an offer for you to come with me to Coruscant." he said rather hastily, but still more then well enough for her to hear, and the look on her face showed that she heard loud and clear. Her eyes slightly wide, and mouth open just a little in surprise, she quickly, however, recomposed herself and cleared her throat of an imaginary blockage.

"Really?" She asked finally. "I…I don't know what to say…or even ask firstly…" She trailed off, making Viathan want to say something but he was quickly denied the ability to by the princess.

"Why in the name of the galaxy do you have an invitation for me to go to the imperial capital world? Secondly, an invitation from who, and furthermore….." She seemed like she was trying to think of a third question, and snapped here head back up when one finally came to her. "Thirdly, why now?" She asked with a lower toned voice now.

Idly rubbing the back of his neck from tiredness, Viathan decided to play his cards. "First off the invitation is of my and my masters Leia." She slightly grimaced at the mention of Kun but did not interject which Viathan thanked the force for. "Secondly, and the more important answer is, the now is perfect timing really." He said with a small shrug. "Think about it. The galaxy is at war, and as I have told you there are plans being made, and moves being taken to…better the Empire." He said in what was more subtle then perhaps called for but she nodded in return nonetheless. "events are now in motion across the stars my princess, and I now have the ability, to bring you to the heart of the problem; not only for me and my master but for you and your ideals as well. Now is the time to make your move, and no matter your age or strength things are about to be done that cannot be undone, and I would rather see you at our side then against the tide, or out of these proverbial waters altogether." Viathan saw she was taken slightly aback at one of his latest mini tirades, but Viathan smiled a little and made one last appeal. "Plus…I rather think the galaxy, even the Empire and what I hope to see it as one day, needs a person like you. Your ideals will….shall we say keep us on our toes." Viathan added, and saw her give a small smile and wave him off.

"Buttering me up is not going to help you my dear friend." She said in more of a joking tone before taking on another serious expression and looking down towards her feet in thought. Viathan decided to let her sit and think for a moment, and looked once more into the pool of water waiting patiently for a reply….despite the fact his stomach was in knots of nervousness.

She glanced up towards him after a moment. "What about Winter, and of Alderaan?" Viathan quickly made his reply. "Winter? She can come with us if you'd prefer, or if not then you would, of course be allowed to visit her, or have her visit you on occasion. As for you home milady I will be leaving a garrison to maintain peace….under my very clear and strict commands to not go beyond their limitations of power, and now that we are officially at war, Alderaan will of course be guarded." After a pause he added, "And of course you will be allowed to come back here whenever it so pleases you and doesn't conflict with training or battle." He said with what he hoped was his best genuine smile. Much to his delight she gave a small smile in return.

"Surely some would think you are giving way too much power and control to a mere thirteen year old." She said half jokingly. Viathan however shrugged. "I'm but two years older then you milady, and yet I command an army. Seems quite odd doesn't it?" She let out a small laugh then.

"Now that you mention it yes it is really…..odd." Afterwards though her features leveled once more in thought. It was a few painfully silent moments later that Viathan decided he would perhaps leave her to think, that she finally spoke again.

"If I decide to leave Alderaan, and go with you to the capital and be a part of you and your 'masters' scheming what would you have me do? I am still far too young to actually take part in anything that matters in how the Empire could be changed for the better." She argued and Viathan in turn waved her off.

"That is where you're wrong Leia, as a member of the new and fledgling order me and my master shall be working hard to form and empower, I can assure you that you will have more power in your pinky finger then all those babbling cronies in the senate have combined." At the mention of the senate she visibly darkened before Viathan's eyes. "Did…does my fath.." she huffed out a rather loud and obviously annoyed sigh before finishing. "Does Bail know I would be going or even have the opportunity to?" She inquired with a numb and unreadable expression upon her face.

"I can assure you that he has not one inkling of knowledge about your coming if you do, and will not. Should you chose to you will be granted full emancipation authority for yourself, and can decide when if ever you chose to speak with him once more." Viathan smirked ever so slightly before adding, "He may be a son of the Empire…but not of the one we desire correct?" She snapped herself to look him dead in the eyes once more, and found nothing but a small smile, and a assuring look on his face.

Viathan abruptly stood and waved his hand free from his cloak. "Now my dear princess I offer you my hand once more." He said extending it towards her much like he had after he beat her at her first training session.

"Except this time you can chose to accept it, and allow yourself to be taken down the path towards your destiny as I believe it is. Or you can decide against such and stay here on your home planet and remain down the path you currently wander. Either way there is no shame to be taken from either choice. One will simply be a tad more exciting; at least in my humble opinion." He added with another small smile of his, and she chuckled a bit in turn. Before she, much to Viathan's immense pleasure, took his hand.

"Okay you've convinced me my Imperial friend….I kinda look forward to making orders from time to time." She declared with another laugh that made Viathan all the more delighted with how this night had turned out.

"Wonderful!" He declared with a clap of his now two released hands. "Now I truly believe that with you on our side things can only go up for us all from here. Well save for those who are in our way of course." A giggle escaped the princess in response. "I said I'd go the flattery is no longer needed my dear Imperial friend." Viathan cocked his brow before bowing in a more over the top then usual manner. "Forgive me milady, I only wished to make your decision a little more enjoyable for you." He said rising with a renewed smile upon his face, and in return she lightly and playfully slapped him on his arm. In this moment Viathan felt only pure joy and excitement, and for the life of himself…he did not and will perhaps not know why.

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**Authors Comments: **By the force I yet live and post a new chapter! :O Sorry it has taken sooooo long to get one up guys and girls but life has seemingly sought to take all free time away from me as of late, and while I cannot promise faster updates yet I promise to try my ever more hardest to get some writing done as much as possible. With that said review the chapter if you please, because I would enjoy feedback as well, even if it is a bout my grammar which can be off at times I admit, or a general review will work. Whatever the case I hope you all enjoy! :)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Coruscant, Imperial Senate)

The day was passing by with a great deal of anxiety. So potent that one could dare cut it with a knife. Exar knew that the petty worries of the people of the galaxy and indeed the senators of this rabble called the Imperial senate, were indeed in part because of himself along with lord Vader, whom he know held in higher respect then ever before. Still, he couldn't help, at times, from letting small smiles creep across his features as he stood in the bustling halls of the senate hall awaiting his moment to address them once more in place of their "mighty" emperor.

The star of Coruscant was crossing the mid day point and soon many people would be attempting to prepare for sleep at night, '_but this is Coruscant after all.' _Exar mused with a self amused smile. _'Since when does this planet ever seem silent or asleep?' _Exar couldn't help but feel more at ease here on Coruscant rather than Alderaan. The city world just reminded him of his plans, ensured that he stayed on his toes, and being so close to the object of his scheming, the Emperor himself, surely added a level of profound determination to the dark lord, to one day take what has been rightfully his for over three-thousand years.

The sound of footsteps behind him once again caught Exar's attention. Turning he saw Mattizz come to a deep kneel before him clutching his mighty ceremonial staff as usual. "I, your humble servant, have come to your call once again, my lord Kun,." The ever humble and intimidating Massassi warrior chimed in his native dialect. Exar motioned the obedient servant to rise and addressed him. "Yes very good Mattizz." He responded in basic, but he knew Mattizz could understand him, and Kun did not feel like speaking the language of his loyal servants at this time.

"I am in need of your services Mattizz. Nothing too big, yet very important nonetheless. It may very well cause blood to be spilled." Exar added, making the Massassi straighten with excitement causing the growths that all Massassi share along his face to bristle showing clearly the Massassi warriors eagerness to once more spill blood for his master.

"I of course will carry out whatever it is you demand of me, oh master." The warrior responded with a bow of his head. To which Kun gave a smile.

"Very good my dear commander. Now listen here and listen closely to what I demand of you." Kun commanded and beckoned the Massassi warrior to follow him over to a nearby balcony that overlooked a gathering hall. Below there were many dozens of senators, politicians, and governors of the empire all mingling and discussing, scheming, and plotting about the days turn of events, and Exar waved his hand about to make his warrior look to the gathering as well.

"These my loyal servant, are senators of the Imperial senate. Now I don't expect you to fully comprehend what is so special about them, but trust me when I say I would be the one insulting your intelligence if I tried to explain how 'useful' these people are." Exar put emphasis on the word 'useful,' to inform his minion of his displeasure with this gathering of self important fools. To which Mattizz gave a snort that showed he fully got his dark lords message.

"Now I am to be addressing these people in a short time. I will need them to listen and take in the full gravity of my words. However I fear that some many of these senators may feel inclined to leave or make to escape what I am going to be commanding and saying. As a great few of them may in fact show their disloyalty today." Kun spoke with a smile tugging ever at his lips. "That being said commander, I want to show these people just how serious, and how prolific I will be in the coming years, and so it is time to play their game of flexing ones own power. That is where you and the rest of my ever loyal Massassi warriors will come in handy." Exar declared pointing at the warrior before him. To which Mattizz nodded his understanding and remained silent for his lord to finish and command him to then speak.

"I want you to station what warriors we have outside several key areas where the senators enter and exit their respective repulsorpods. So when they enter and leave they will see you my servant and your kin. I will also have Stormtroopers, or the soldiers in white as you may remember them, around with you and the rest of the warriors." Kun declared as he put more thought into his scheme to flex muscles. "Yes, that will do. Let us show these good senators that the Empire is already changing, and I am its herald of change." Kun finished with a small sideways grin to himself, and Mattizz in turn bowed.

"It shall be done as you command my lord." The Massassi declared and with that Kun went about showing where the most effective stations were, and before he would stand before this rabble and play the political game, Kun would let his influence be felt, or seen as it were.

(Bestine System, Bestine IV)

The _Impact, _had just moments ago entered into Bestine IV's orbit and bore witness to the utter crippling destruction the Moff vessels had unleashed upon the worlds once useful orbital shipyards. Scattered and adrift lay in ruin many unmanned and incomplete Imperial warships, and scattered amongst them were the remains of the 467th defensive fleet, and now much to Teradoc's pleasure the remains of the Moff attack fleet were a part of the wreckage. The _Impact_ was at the head of a "pack" of Imperial vessels entering the planets atmosphere to asses and aid in the battle still raging below. However, now with the loss of both aerial and orbital support to the ground forces below, Teradoc had no doubt that these traitorous Moff Alliance forces would crumble and burn by his hands, and in the name of the Empire.

"We are now fully inside the atmosphere sir." Called one officer and without looking at him Teradoc ordered the ship and the several following to spread out and make for several key regions under heavy fighting. Bestine being a mostly aquatic world was divided into island regions, and each was under the command of either a public representative for the civilian territories, or an imperial commander. Teradoc however was not to aid in the recapture of population centers. The Emperor had sent a message before the battle making it painfully clear that the imperial ground installations were to be secured first and foremost. To which Teradoc could see no objection to. Indeed it was the more tactically sound decision in his mind, and obviously that of the Emperor's as well.

"Noted officer." Teradoc commented. "Take us towards the imperial command center of Bestine. We are to send aid and reinforcements and retake the base at all costs. And considering how utterly decimated our enemies now are, I think it is safe to assume at all costs will mean very little loss in total." Teradoc finished with a grin directed towards himself and his "accomplishments," as he believed. "Oh yes I almost forgot," Teradoc suddenly announced causing some officers to turn in surprise. "Order the _Vindication, _and _Neutralizer, _to make for the key planet bound factories and either reinforce current imperial troops or launch a recon quest campaign." Teradoc finished and received an 'aye' of confirmation from his comms officer.

Teradoc watched as the two Stardestroyers he ordered away made their own paths towards their separate objectives, his attention was soon redirected towards his own objective though. Before his eyes and obviously where he was, an island was coming more and more into view. Smoke was billowing from several areas on the island and the remains of an imperial communications tower were seen to be in a massive pile of debris surrounded by many other buildings of the imperial headquarters in similar states of destruction. What's more, Teradoc noticed continuous flashes of blaster fire sparkling like miniature diamonds down below and it was hard to see a lull in the violence anywhere. Even from his viewport on his mighty Stardestroyer, Teradoc thought he could make out the distinct and potent sounds of explosions and the exchanging of fire from the carnage taking place below. For a man like Teradoc who has never seen a battle of this magnitude up close, or at least as close as he was willing to get, the scene before him was glorious by its nature alone.

However, it was high time that these moronic Moff upstarts be shown the true Imperial power through Teradoc.

"I want communication channels swept and get me in command with someone in charge down there at once." Teradoc commanded, placing his hands behind his back, and edging closer to the viewport of the Stardestroyer as it inched more and more into a stationary position above the island, blotting the starlight and casting a great shadow over it.

"I have a commander Wellik for you sir. He claims to have been in command of the Bestine communications tower and made the call about the initial attack." Teradoc gave a terse nod.

"Very good, put him on screen for me at once." He ordered with the same level of terseness. To his right was a simple communications screen and soon it materialized the image of what a common Imperial officer was expected to look like. A younger man then Teradoc, unassuming features, but a stiffness about him that was an affect of being an officer of the Empire.

"Greetings to you, err admiral Teradoc sir. I am Camderan Wellik, commander, or former commander of Bestine comms Tower and planetary communications. Our planetary based general is on another island I am afraid and thus I was left in command here after the initial strike." Teradoc ignored the fact that Wellik was confused whether he was an admiral or not, as he was as of now, but instead gave him a nod of understanding. A few loud explosions occurred in the background where Wellik was causing the officer to partially duck and twitch with nervousness before recomposing himself accordingly.

"Very good commander, I am in full command of your planet's relief fleet and reinforcements. I will need to know the positioning of our enemies so your support can be sent accordingly." Wellik cleared his throat to that, making Teradoc raise a brow.

"Yes well therein lies a problem admiral, sir." Teradoc again raised his brow in annoyance. "Problem, commander? What problem?"

"You see we are quite dead down here in the field of information. As far as we know enemies are spread all over the island and have more arms, and equipment then us as well as better arms. Several AT-AT's and AT-ST's are bearing down on my position as we lost all our armored vehicles some hours ago in a devastating bombing run by Moff forces." Wellik informed as another explosion rocked what appeared to be his command center, which in all reality was nothing more then an enclosed area of rubble.

Teradoc looked towards his comms officer and pointed towards him hoping he understood the silent gesture meant to take what information was just given and send out TIE bombers to deal with the Moff armor. To which the officer gave a curt nod of understanding and relayed the enemy positions to a now departing squadron.

"I have bombers about to bear down on enemy armored positions now Wellik. I suggest you inform your troops, and get to work on relaying enemy positions to me at once!" Teradoc near boomed causing Wellik to look a little worse for wear. No doubt the officers nerves were becoming more depleted of calm.

(Wellik's View)

Wellik jumped from his comms terminal and made for another relay terminal that was used for general orders and called for all troopers to expect a close proximity allied bombing run. Afterwards Camderan chanced a look past the rubble pile that acted at his shelter and saw the enemy AT-AT and AT-ST's bearing down on his front line defenses with all the firepower these Imperial war machines could bring. Trees were tumbled, and soil was burnt, fire was haphazardly spread amongst the carnage and white clad corpses of enemy and ally alike. The blue skies of Bestine now replaced with a threatening but assuring shadow of a great Stardestroyer. The smell of burning metal, and death was revolting but Wellik stood and waited as he then saw the streaks of TIE bombers lined in a five vessel squadron formation with one in front leading with two rows of two following tightly behind. They closed in and the eerie screech of the Imperial bombers were heard, and Wellik's pulse quickened at the thought of seeing the enemy vehicles reduced to rubble before his eyes.

But then out of nowhere bolts of blue shot from the ground in a stunning succession one after the other and with a loud crack of fire as the bolts flew and collided with the bombers and blew them out of the skies causing disintegration or collision into the ground in a heap of twisted and burning metal. In horror Wellik watched this and soon his men returned to firing and left their hidden positions. Wellik ran for his comms terminal, and what awaited him was a very angry Teradoc barking questions and orders at his crew members. Noticing Wellik's return Teradoc made to quickly hide an annoyed sneer.

"There you are commander! I am going t assume you had no inkling Moff forces had anti-air capabilities until now right?" It was a question but it was seeping with a mocking tone, and Camderan could only nod in return dumbly. "Yes, admiral, sir. Our intelligence down here on troop and weapons deployments is near nonexistent. The notion that this island may be riddle with anti-air is a distinct possibility, but I nor anyone else here had no way of knowing for sure if that was the case." Wellik blurted, but managed to keep a modicum of composure, and took in a sharp breath afterwards.

Teradoc, a sneer ever present now, mulled this over, and looked as if he was in a whole other place as his eyes were distant in thought.

"Very well, if they do not lack the ability to strike against our smaller ships, I think we shall lay waste to them with the bigger ones at our disposal." He finally said, a small smile creeping now across his face.

Wellik however was taken aback. _'Surely he cant be serious?!' _He thought before making his objection known. "Admiral Teradoc, sir, surely you recognize and orbital bombardment with an Imperial Class Stardestroyer will nearly obliterate this entire island, me, and my men included with the enemy?!" He asked, but it was more a statement of fear and anger. Teradoc waved him off.

"Nonsense commander, we will fire at lowered strength, and will target enemy positions explicitly. As such I suggest you come up with a way for us to distinguish friend from foe at once, before the situation calls for desperate measures." The quite obvious threat aside Wellik began immediately mulling over how the vessel could target Moff forces and not Imperial Loyalists. It would be quite hard seeing as enemy forces still wore the armor of an imperial. A thought came to him and Wellik snapped to spiting it out before putting any real thought into it.

"The Moff forces! They all have an insignia along their armor and clothing that signifies them as friendly Moff forces amongst one another!" Camderan blurted, but then immediately regretted it as he realized why that wouldn't work, as had Teradoc too by the look of humored arrogance about his face. "Sadly commander, we do not have the ability to see enemy forces insignias so clearly from up here in the skies. We need something more then that I'm afraid. Power up underside weapon at once!" he ordered and Wellik could feel the sweat cascading now. _'For the sake of the Emperor how am I to know how you distinguish friend from foe?! I don't even have the kriffing time to radio for advice from my field commanders!' _Wellik angrily thought as he held a balled fist to his mouth and thought as his nerves all but gave out on him. Then, again a thought hit him and all it required was the word radio.

"Wait…admiral Teradoc sir I've got it!" Wellik cried in a sudden outburst, and the Admiral raised a brow and then made a gesture for him to go on. "Um, well yes, since we are all imperials down here, or at least trained as Imperials we noticed that all our broadcasts on both sides were being heard by either side as we were all tapping into the common Imperial communication channels. Quickly though, Moff forces were not heard after a few hours of fighting and we assumed they switched over to some other, more obscure, Imperial channel for their communications in the field. If you can have your ship sweep the area for Imperial broadcasts not on the common channels then you will have our enemy's positions!" With that Wellik took in a large breath he hadn't known he needed and all but forgot about his Imperial composure and expectance to maintain it even under duress.

Teradoc seemed unfazed by the lapse in propriety however, and was mulling over Wellik's idea. "Can this be done?" The admiral asked as he turned to a nearby officer; most likely his captain, and the captain in turn gave a weary look towards the communications officer. The response was a scan over a terminal by the officer and then an adamant nod of affirmation. Teradoc gave a small nod that seemed to Wellik to be one that showed he was willing to not blow everyone off the face of the island; to which Camderan let out another, but far smaller breath of relief. "Very well commander, we shall try your way. It is quite lucky of you to come to this realization mere moments before your death seemed immanent. I must inform the Emperor that officer competence efficiency rises under extreme duress." The admiral said in a way that Wellik could honestly not tell if he was joking or being serious.

Finding Wellik's lack of verbal response seemingly annoying, Teradoc made a small almost condescending laugh and turned to his captain. "Target all heavy Moff armor down there, follow up with obliteration of all enemy gathering spots. I believe the good commander, with our reinforcements can annihilate what survivors are left. Isn't that right commander Wellik?" The admiral asked, and Camderan gave a curt nod; as he more wanted his 'savior' to just go more than anything. Teradoc again chuckled and turned to his captain, "Commence ground bombardment at once, and ready all dropships."

The battle was raging while these imperial officers talked amongst themselves. Bolts of brilliant blue, green, and red were flying all about in an array of dazzling light. There was seemingly no lull in shooting, and white armored clad Stormtroopers lay dead all about with a few officers of both side mixed into the corpse piles. Shattered metal, and scorched rock lay amongst the dead, and upon them walked the living fighting and shooting for their lives and for victory. All the more potent as the Moff forces had to deal with the fact a Stardestroyer loomed over their heads and did not respond to them and was attempting to destroy their AT-AT's. All the Moff forces needed to do was pass through an Imperial defensive position taken up in the rubble of the communications tower and surrounding base. Heavy and light armor could not penetrate the rubble, and thus troopers were fighting face to face with their old imperial comrades. With the armor acting as nothing but backup and heavy bombardment upon enemy positions.

Above the Moff forces the massive turbolasers on the underbelly of the behemoth Stardestroyer moved into position. Their first target aimed at the ever so easily hit AT-AT's and surrounding AT-ST's and repulsor-tanks. Like a deafening crack of thunder, the first turbo laser blast went off, followed by a brilliant succession of many more massive energy bolts that tore straight though the first AT-AT target and the turbolasers pounded the soil beneath until the very fact the war vehicle existed could be called into question by the utter obliteration committed. The continuous fire of the turbolasers was overkill as soil and ash was thrown in all manners into the air as the weapons fired upon and annihilated their targets, but would keep firing and move over empty soil to their next target. First the stationary AT-AT units were decimated and then the frontline shock troops of the Moff forces which was so close commander Wellik was thrown all about his little shack like a rag doll as were his troopers. Some didn't have the luxury of making it as they were incinerated by the mass bolts.

"Fire now on Moff command post coordinates. Rotate turbolaser to the next set of coordinates at once!" Teradoc ordered as the underbelly weapons would slowly rotate while spitting out their lethal payload nonstop, and when contact was made into the command sections of the Moff forces on the island bodies, tanks, and soil were all thrown into the air violently as cracks and booms were heard and reverberating all about the land below. As the nearby waves too began to splash upon the land violently as if the whole planet was being shaken about like a tub full of water. "Halt fire now!" Teradoc commanded in a booming but obviously satisfied voice as he peered out his viewport to the island he now left horribly scarred and blackened with ashen scorch marks.

"How do things look from your end commander?" Teradoc asked with a laugh as the frazzled and shaken officer onscreen struggled to get his bearings as trooper and officers in the background ran about in a frenzy.

"Uh, yes…let me confirm admiral sir…" Wellik trailed off as he began asking his own officers some questions off screen. After a moment of chatter that was unheard to Teradoc Wellik's face came fully back onscreen.

"Preliminary sweep of our immediate perimeter shows no signs of enemy forces. We seem to have a one-hundred percent kill rate on all surrounding armored units, but with what I am seeing we still have small pockets of non radio responsive troopers across the island. Thus we're inferring that if they are not on our channel they must be Moff forces." Camderan said as he began looking over some reports coming on to some unseen terminal of his. "Can I request confirmation from the _Impact's _scanners that we are indeed picking hostile radio signals in pockets to my immediate north-east and west admiral sir?" Teradoc obliged the officer and looked to his "sensors" officer off to the side who looked over his own terminal and merely gave a nod in return.

"We can confirm that commander. I am ordering all dropships to depart at once and assist you in mop-up. The emperor has ordered clean sweeps of traitor forces and doesn't want a single report concerning prisoners. Do you understand commander?" Teradoc asked to which Camderan nodded. "Very good once your reinforcements have landed take command and send in hourly updates to the _Impact, _I must see if my assistance or leadership is needed elsewhere on Bestine or in orbit."

Wellik merely replied with, "Very good admiral sir." Which ended the communication between the two imperial officers, and ended the short Moff campaign on Bestine as all Moff forces would be neutralized within five hours time from this moment both planetside and orbital. This of course is not to say the war was ended, indeed that is furthest from the truth…

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**Author's Notes: **Hello all, I just wanted to try and keep posting my chapters. This one is war heavy and I want to see how it is received...you know if I get any feedback at all. Sorry it is kinda a cliffhanger, but I am really gearing up the war element of the story, i mean it is Star WARS right? Also one quick note I want to add, I will not be counting any Sta Wars material that comes out in Episode 7 as canon, as I personally think Disney is just going to tear the current continuity apart as they see fit for their profits. So I just want you guys to know that if I am still posting around the time it comes out, because I will NEVER watch it or follow it's canon. Thank you for putting up with this rant I will post the next chapter hopefully quite soon.


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